The American Bahá’í/Volume 11/Issue 7/Text
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National Assembly taps new Teaching Committee[edit]
The National Spiritual Assembly, expressing its “deep and sincere appreciation” for the heroic and sacrificial efforts of the National Teaching Committee in helping to win the goals of the Five Year Plan, decided at its May meeting to appoint a new five-member Teaching Committee to carry forward that momentum into the second phase of the Seven Year Plan.
Members of the new committee are J. Kenton Allen of Menlo Park, California; Dr. Wilma Brady of New York City; Juana Conrad of Glendale, California (the only holdover from the outgoing committee); Rose Lopez of Winnetka, Illinois; and Dr. Keyvan Nazerian of East Lansing, Michigan.
THE COMMITTEE was scheduled to hold its first meeting the weekend of June 13-14.
Mr. Allen, an assistant to Auxiliary Board member Margaret Gallagher, served for more than three years on the Bosch Bahá’í School Council.
The native Californian has pioneered with his wife, Mary, to the Seychelles Islands, Swaziland and South Africa.
Dr. Brady has served as the National Spiritual Assembly’s representative at the United Nations, and is presently chairman of the Spiritual Assembly of New York City.
Dr. Brady also served on the former Black Teaching Committee.
Mrs. Conrad, a member of the District Teaching Committee of Southern California No. 1 for the past two years, is a member of the Spiritual Assembly of Glendale.
She is deputy chief of the Los Angeles Municipal Court’s Traffic Division, and served for three years as superintendent
Seals and Crofts, one of the most successful recording teams of the last decade, have left for pioneering posts in Costa Rica and Mexico, respectively.
Seals & Crofts leave U.S., pioneer to Latin America[edit]
Seals and Crofts, whose music has inspired and uplifted Bahá’ís and non-Bahá’ís alike in every corner of the world for more than a decade, have left the U.S. to pioneer to Central America.
Jim Seals and his family left their home in San Fernando, California, May 20 to take up residence in Santa Ana, Costa Rica.
Dash Crofts and his family moved from Northridge, California, in mid-June to their new home in Cuernavaca, Mexico.
IN A TELEPHONE interview from Costa Rica, Jim Seals said his decision to pioneer sprang in part from the impact of the Guardian’s statements about pioneering, coupled with a desire for a change of environment for writing.
“Every time I come to Mexico, or anywhere south of the border,” he said, “I’ve found I become more creative.”
Dash said his pioneering plans followed a search for a second home outside the U.S.
“Once we got to Cuernavaca,” he explained, “we realized we didn’t actually want a second home; we wanted to live there and become pioneers.”
Their millions of fans all over the world will be delighted to know that pioneering won’t end the musical activity of Seals and Crofts. Far from it.
Both emphasized that despite the move, Seals and Crofts remain very much a team.
“NOTHING HAS changed except our places of residence,” said Jim. “We realized that in the business we’re in, it really doesn’t matter where we live.”
“Jimmy prefers to be in Costa Rica while I want to live in Mexico,” added Dash. “That doesn’t have anything to do with our business relationship, or our personal friendship. Both remain very much intact.
“The only thing that is changing
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What’s inside A NEW children’s group, ‘Youth for One World,’ is formed in Southern California. Page 6 THE BAHÁ’Í International Community hosts a luncheon on the dimensions of human development. Page 8 BERMUDA makes final preparations for the election of its first National Spiritual Assembly at Riḍván 1981. Page 11 GREEN LAKE, Wisconsin, plays host in September to its 21st annual Bahá’í Conference. Page 14 THE PUBLISHING Trust releases an unprecedented number of new materials for children. Page 16 |
Record $5 million budget goal is adopted for fiscal 1980-81
Last year the American Bahá’í community made an outstanding response to the appeal for funds for the Universal House of Justice. This demonstrated the potential of the believers to generate substantial sums of money for the Cause of God.
Filled with a spirit of confidence and optimism inspired by this example of selfless giving, the National Spiritual Assembly adopted a $5 million budget for fiscal 1980-81 at its May meeting.
OF THE TOTAL, the annual contributions goal will be $4.25 million ($224,000 per Bahá’í month—up $4,000 from last year’s monthly goal), while estates and other income will make up the balance.
As was the case last year, $1 million of this budget (20 per cent) is allocated for the Bahá’í International Fund. This collective contribution from the U.S. Bahá’í community is the top priority.
Successful completion of our own national plans, as outlined by the Universal House of Justice, will depend upon the degree to which the American Bahá’í community responds to the financial challenge of the new budget.
The National Spiritual Assembly has faith that the abundantly-evident deterioration of world conditions can only serve to strengthen the resolve of the friends to do whatever is necessary to meet the monetary needs of the Cause—the sole hope for mankind.
A front view of the architect’s drawing of the proposed new classroom building at the Louhelen Bahá’í School near Davison, Michigan Louhelen reconstruction plans have been approved by the National Spiritual Assembly.
Louhelen school plans okayed[edit]
The National Spiritual Assembly has approved plans presented by the National Education Committee and its Louhelen Project Committee for the reconstruction of the Louhelen Bahá’í School near Davison, Michigan.
At its May meeting, the National Assembly endorsed the architectural concept for the project and authorized the Office of the Treasurer to proceed with plans for raising the estimated $1.8 million needed to carry out the reconstruction program.
THE FORMER Louhelen (Davison) School, opened in 1931, was closed in 1974 for reasons of safety.
The Guardian’s comments about the importance of Louhelen can be found in no less than 50 of his letters.
For example, he wrote through his secretary on December 10, 1942: “Shoghi Effendi feels very strongly that Louhelen should, in every way, be safeguarded as a Bahá’í institution ...
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VIEWPOINT
Editorial
The bounty of being a believer[edit]
In the grind of everyday living we sometimes forget what a great bounty it is to be a Bahá’í.
The extraordinary statements made by the Central Figures of our Faith about the significance of this Day and the blessings vouchsafed to those favored with the gift of faith fortify our souls and inspire us. Consider these words of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá:
“HOW THANKFUL must we be for having been made in this Day the recipients of so overwhelming a favor! Would that we had ten thousand lives that we might lay them down in thanksgiving for so rare a privilege, so high an attainment, so priceless a bounty!”
“The mere contemplation of the Dispensation inaugurated by the Blessed Beauty would have sufficed to overwhelm the saints of bygone ages—saints who longed to partake for one moment of its great glory.”
“The holy ones of past ages and centuries have, each and all, yearned with tearful eyes to live, though for one moment, in the Day of God. Their longings unsatisfied, they repaired to the Great Beyond. How great, therefore, is the bounty of the Abhá Beauty Who, notwithstanding our utter unworthiness, hath through His grace and mercy breathed into us in this divinely-illumined century the spirit of life, hath gathered us beneath the standard of the Beloved of the world, and chosen to confer upon us a bounty for which the mighty ones of bygone ages had craved in vain.”
“The souls of the well-favored among the concourse on high, the sacred dwellers of the most exalted Paradise, are in this day filled with burning desire to return unto this world, that they may render such service as lieth in their power to the threshold of the Abhá Beauty.”
Bahá’u’lláh’s own reference to the station of the true believer boggles the mind and makes us wonder how great are the deeds expected of us:
“THE STATION which he who hath truly recognized this Revelation will attain is the same as the one ordained for such prophets of the house of Israel as are not regarded as Manifestations ‘endowed with constancy.’ ”
As we labor in a world beset with calamities and confusion, may we ever keep in mind assurances such as these.
However troubling and bizarre the misfortunes of a collapsing society may become, we know who we are and what God expects of us. What greater security could there be?
Sam Jackson, Sheri Dressler and Duane Dumbleton (left to right), Bahá’ís who work at Florida Junior College in Jacksonville, prepare to cut one of two cakes presented on their behalf to the faculty and staff at FJC as a gift for Ayyám-i-Há. It marked the third year in a row that the Bahá’ís at FJC have offered such a gift during Intercalary Days. The cakes were made by an FJC student. Lee Gross, a Bahá’í from another campus of the college.
Comment
Bahá’í teachings require new standards of criticism[edit]
By ERIC COWAN
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This month’s article, “Toward a Bahá’í Standard of Literary Criticism,” was written by Eric Cowan of Harrisonburg, Virginia. |
“Scholarship,” the Universal House of Justice explains in its recent message to Bahá’í scholars, “has a high station in the Bahá’í teachings, and Bahá’í scholars have a great responsibility to a growing, divinely-guided society.
“The ascertainment of truth and the acquisition of a fuller understanding of the subjects of their scholarship are worthy and high endeavors.”
The statement is especially relevant to literary criticism.
TRADITIONALLY, the role of such criticism has been to provide a scale on which the merits of a literary work can be weighed.
Observations and opinions, based on an individual’s comprehension and evaluation of a particular work, form the basis of literary criticism.
In many cases, literary critiques have come to be regarded as legitimate standards marking the degree to which a work is “good” or “bad.”
Equally accepted is the concept that critics should have “free license” to employ whatever language they feel is necessary to express their admiration, or lack of it, regardless of the integrity of such language, literary or otherwise.
Indeed, since literary criticism is generally regarded as a form of writing in itself, it is not uncommon for criticism to become exaggerated simply because the writer desires to make a show of “muscle-flexing” his own literary style.
It is clear that in light of Bahá’í teaching, there is a need to reexamine our attitudes toward this subject.
LITERARY CRITICISM, in its proper expression, is an art-form whose foundation is justice and fairness, and whose object should be to encourage the independent investigation of truth.
Indeed, the loftiest principles of the Faith must be aligned with our intellectual attitude toward so important a subject.
“Everything in creation,” the Universal House of Justice adds in its letter to scholars, “should be studied in the light of revelation as well as in that of purely rational investigation.”
The tools with which every author of literary criticism must work—the spiritual principles of justice and fairness—combined with a truly rational and unbiased attitude, will enable him to present his information in a spirit of objectivity, without making personal judgments, but rather providing observations and posing questions designed to encourage others in their pursuit of truth.
This is not to say that a critic cannot question or challenge the assertions, conclusions or literary expression of any work.
Criticism in light of the Bahá’í teachings need not be vague or mediocre for the sake of recognizing only the good qualities in something.
HOWEVER, the spirit in which these questions are raised, and especially the language employed, is supremely important.
Many critics delight in writing scathing reviews, or in exercising their particular style of witty criticism because it is the fashion.
It is especially important, with the emergence of a Bahá’í standard of literary criticism, that these standards be discarded. The Universal House of Justice writes:
“A scholar who is imbued with understanding of the broad teachings of the Faith will always remember that being a scholar does not exempt him from the primal duties and purposes for which all human beings are created.”
Bahá’u’lláh Himself has eloquently asserted: “Great care should be exercised that whatever is written in these days doth not cause dissention, and invite the objection of the people.”
Again, He says: “Whatever is written should not transgress the bounds of tact and wisdom ... God grant that authors among the friends will write in such a way as would be acceptable to fair-minded souls, and not lead to cavilling by the people.”
FROM THESE statements it is clear that enlightened authors must cause the emergence of a new and productive form of literary commentary, and cast aside more traditional forms, so counter-productive in their essence and so non-aligned with basic spiritual concepts.
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The American Bahá’í
(USPS 042-430) Published monthly by the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States, 112 Linden Avenue, Wilmette, IL 60091. Second class postage paid at Wilmette, IL. Editor: Jack Bowers The American Bahá’í welcomes news, letters and other articles of interest from individuals and the various institutions of the Faith. Articles should be written in a clear and concise manner; black and white glossy photos should be included whenever possible. Please address all materials to The Editor, The American Bahá’í, 112 Linden Avenue, Wilmette, IL 60091. Copyright © 1980 by the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States. World rights reserved. Printed in the U.S.A. |
The benefits of the establishment of a more spiritual approach to literary commentary are significant and far-reaching.
The impression that such a mature and intelligent form of writing, based on the Teachings of Bahá’u’lláh, must make on a watching world would certainly be another evidence of the creative power of a Faith that does not blindly adhere to outmoded customs, but rather creates new forms to suit its new and unique needs.
A Bahá’í approach to literary criticism might well imbue writers with a heightened enthusiasm for their work, knowing that their efforts would be treated fairly and objectively, instead of subjected to bias or personal opinions that can be so demoralizing.
Indeed, the Bahá’í community cannot afford to suppress or squander its talent at a time when
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LETTERS
Faith can use well-trained legal minds[edit]
To the Editor:
I am a Bahá’í attending law school. As previous articles in The American Bahá’í have stated, there is a great need for Bahá’í lawyers. This need will become even greater as the Faith grows.
Unfortunately, compared with other occupations, not many Bahá’ís are preparing for this field.
Most Bahá’ís I know are supportive of my becoming a lawyer. But I think the lack of Bahá’í lawyers and law students is due in part to an attitude in the Bahá’í community that being a lawyer does not quite measure up to Bahá’í moral standards.
This attitude is the source of discourteous remarks made by some Bahá’ís to others in the field of law.
It is important to examine and to correct these attitudes, not only for the sake of unity, but also to encourage other Bahá’ís to become lawyers.
Some areas in which it appears to me that Bahá’í lawyers are needed are in immigration law, to help the Persian friends; in copyright law, to protect Bahá’í trademarks; in property law; in international law—as the Faith grows, the list grows longer. The fact is that Bahá’ís are needed in most areas of law, and the friends should realize that a Bahá’í need not feel he could be compromised.
While law schools are not known for being fun, being a Bahá’í lawyer can be exciting, especially in direct service to the Faith. Women and members of racial minorities are especially needed in this field, and most law schools actively seek such individuals as students.
It may help to remind the friends that two members of our National Spiritual Assembly—James and Dorothy Nelson—are lawyers, as is one member of the Universal House of Justice, Hugh Chance.
A partial list of early Bahá’ís who were lawyers includes the Hand of the Cause of God Louis G. Gregory, Charles Ioas, Arthur Dodge, Mountfort Mills, Charles Greenleaf, Tony Seto, Albert Hall, and Alfred Lunt. The Guardian showered his praises on them, often for their legal assistance to the Cause.
Sacramento, California
To the Editor:
Ever find yourself saying “Why do not the Bahá’ís do this or that,” whatever the case may be?
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The American Bahá’í welcomes letters to the editor on any subject of general interest. Letters should be as brief as possible, and are subject to editing for length and style. Please address letters to The Editor, The American Bahá’í, 112 Linden Avenue. Wilmette, IL 60091. |
Upon taking a closer look and being honest with ourselves, we find that the “Bahá’ís” are you and me.
They are not out there, they are here, and this is it, you are it, we are it.
If you want something to happen in your community, initiate it or get someone to help you in initiating it with the approval of your Assembly, or in consultation with the Group.
Once we all begin to shoulder the obvious responsibility for the success of the Cause, collectively, the strength and power of Bahá’u’lláh will bring us our hearts’ desire and create the world we all long for and know will sooner or later be established.
The more responsible we choose to be, the sooner the goals will be achieved.
California Central No. 1
To the Editor:
Recently I had the bounty of seeing a personal teaching venture extend beyond my immediate efforts, and have been encouraged to share the account with you.
As a student at Western Washington University, I occasionally have the opportunity to discuss certain aspects of the Faith with some of my instructors.
It occurred to me that the instructor of one of my classes (a seminar in personality theory) might enjoy Daniel C. Jordan’s article, “Becoming Your True Self.” So I loaned him the issue of World Order magazine in which it appeared.
He was so impressed by the article that, to my surprise, he had copies made and distributed them to the class, asking everyone to write a brief comment.
Several students have since indicated to me that they enjoyed the article and the ideas it expressed.
World Order includes many articles well-suited to a university audience; I recommend it as a medium for teaching on campus.
Bellingham, Washington
To the Editor:
In the last two issues of The American Bahá’í, a topic has been brought under discussion that has long lingered in the hearts and minds of nearly every Bahá’í in this hemisphere.
Since many of us come from a Christian background, we are therefore faced with the challenge of educating the very “family” into which we were born in the fundamentals of Bahá’u’lláh’s Revelation.
WE FIND, however, an overwhelming number of Christian ideologies, each person at times having a unique approach to his belief in Jesus, the Christ.
Theodore Heizer (Comment, February 1980) has, I believe, expressed most aptly the fundamental point at issue, saying, “For American Bahá’ís, becoming well-versed in the Christian teachings is, I believe, not simply a good idea, it is an obligation.”
But one may reasonably ask: Which Christian teachings? From whose point of view?
We could spend a lifetime seeking the various Christian churches out, then another finding the myriad individuals who are “churches” unto themselves.
Perhaps we should study the Bible, not from the point of view of those who promote it, but from the standpoint of the Revelations of the Báb, Bahá’u’lláh, and Muhammad, even as Bahá’u’lláh has said:
“O leaders of religion! Weigh not the Book of God with such standards and sciences as are current amongst you, for the Book itself is the unerring balance established amongst men.” (Synopsis and Codification of the Kitáb-i-Aqdas, p. 22, No. 14)
Shoghi Effendi also touched on this subject in The World Order of Bahá’u’lláh, p. 185:
“Such institutions as have strayed far from the spirit and teachings of Jesus Christ must of necessity, as the embryonic World Order of Bahá’u’lláh takes shape and unfolds, recede into the background, and make way for the progress of the divinely-ordained institutions that stand inextricably interwoven with His teachings.
“The indwelling Spirit of God which, in the Apostolic Age of the Church, animated its members, the pristine purity of its teachings, the primitive brilliance of its Light, will, no doubt, be reborn and revived as the inevitable consequence of this redefinition of its fundamental verities, and the clarification of its original purpose.”
Among the more valuable source books on Apostolic Christianity I have found are The Heavens Are Cleft Asunder, by Hushmand Sabet; The Light Shineth in Darkness, by Udo Schaefer; and Recognitions and Homilies of Clement, published in the Anti-Nicene Fathers, Vol. VIII (William B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., Grand Rapids, Michigan, reprinted October 1978)
Lincoln City, Oregon
To the Editor:
I would like to comment on a letter to the editor by Susan V. Jones (May 1980) in which she questions the Guardian’s statements about psychic phenomena, reasoning that since Bahá’u’lláh Himself placed no limitations on any area of learning and development, why should Shoghi Effendi then impose such restrictions?
First, it should be clear to every Bahá’í who understands the Covenant that after Bahá’u’lláh, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá had the last word, and after ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Shoghi Effendi was the final authority. Today, of course, the Universal House of Justice is empowered to settle any ambiguous matters that may arise.
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New Bahá’í Publishing Trust
Catalog No. 7-31-04. Cloth $12.00 |
IT IS TRUE that Bahá’u’lláh often praised and encouraged education, but “of those sciences which may profit the people of the earth, and not such sciences as begin in mere words, and end in mere words.” (Tablet of Tajalliyat)
To experience and foster our innate psychic powers for study in this world would not “profit” mankind, as ‘Abdu’l-Bahá and Shoghi Effendi warned us; and besides, little has come to light about a scientific basis on which to justify the multitude of claims being propounded and believed in.
As of now, much of psychic investigation is “mere words.”
The independent investigation of truth is a principle that relates to one’s maturity and capacity.
Would the freedom to read a covenant-breaker’s books be a sign of open-mindedness for the Faith, or rather a dangerous test to the soul? Were we ready to discover and develop atomic power when we did?
Our Writings warned us long ago of the dangers of both of the above.
The question is: When may we utilize and express our psychic powers? The answer, from ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, is: Not until the soul leaves the body.
And the appropriate response to the Guardian’s statements is: Obedience!
Colorado Springs, Colorado
Kentucky conference scheduled in August[edit]
Auxiliary Board member Sam McClellan will be among the speakers August 1-3 at the Kentucky Bahá’í Institute on the campus of Moorehead State University.
The institute, sponsored by the District Teaching Committee of Kentucky, has as its theme “Love, Unity and Family Life as Confronted Every Day by Bahá’ís.” The agenda includes a workshop on dealing with life as a single Bahá’í.
Plans also include children’s activities and a nursery for preschoolers.
Housing is available at the university, and there is a campsite three miles away. Numerous recreational opportunities are available at the conference site, located in a national park.
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Coming! Paper edition of Memories of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá. |
Moorehead State University is in Moorehead, Kentucky, east of Lexington on Interstate 64.
For information and reservations, contact Geri Hasse, 371 Tiverton Way, Lexington, KY 40503, or phone 606-272-4793.
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TEACHING COMMITTEE
Simplest ideas sometimes best in carrying out teaching work[edit]
Sometimes it’s the simple ideas that work best in our teaching efforts.
Here is one such idea that may help many of us overcome one of our biggest problems in teaching—getting acquainted with new people with whom to share the Faith.
THAT IDEA is to do many of the things we normally do, but in different places. For example, most of us shop for groceries. If we shopped at a different store than usual, perhaps one in a goal area, we might become acquainted with someone new.
One believer who tries to mention the name of Bahá’u’lláh to someone every day often makes a special trip to a grocery store with the idea in mind that he may be able to talk to someone about the Faith.
This method also can be used to reach various ethnic groups. By shopping in an area where minorities predominate, we can target our teaching to reach them. This can be an invaluable way to “intensify” teaching work among the minorities.
We could walk the dog in a different neighborhood, jog through a different park, fish in a different stream, ride a different bus to work—any of a number of things that represent normal activity, but are done with a special purpose in mind: spreading the glad tidings of Bahá’u’lláh.
But to prove successful, these activities must be conducted regularly and with a long-term commitment. Without continuous visits we can’t become familiar with the area or make friends with the people living there.
Perhaps the friends could set a goal for using this method, say, between now and the anniversary of the Birth of Bahá’u’lláh. The results could then be published in The American Bahá’í.
With this method, those who do not have a place to hold a fireside or are not comfortable with team teaching activities may find a way to help fulfill their heart’s desire: to teach the Cause of Bahá’u’lláh.
The Spiritual Assembly of Port Angeles, Washington, sponsored a free car wash as its Naw-Rúz gift to the city. About 75 cars were washed, and many new friends were made for the Faith. The Port Angeles Assembly reports that the event also helped bring the Bahá’ís even closer together, reaffirming the concept that ‘God loves those who work in groups.’
Auxiliary Board member Hormoz Bastani (left) of Houston, Texas chats with Dr. Allan Ward of Little Rock, Arkansas, during a three-day teaching and consolidation institute April 4-6 in Tyler, Texas. The two were main speakers at the institute, sponsored by the Auxiliary Board, the District Teaching Committee of Texas Eastern District No. 1, and the National Treasurer’s Representatives.
Fund, teaching themes at Texas-Arkansas meet[edit]
Bahá’ís from 16 communities in Texas and Arkansas participated April 4-6 in a deepening and teaching institute in Tyler, Texas.
The institute, sponsored by the Auxiliary Board, the District Teaching Committee of Texas Eastern District No. 1, and National Treasurer’s Representatives, had as its theme “Living the Life Drop by Drop—the Fund and Teaching.”
Sixty-one adults, 14 youth and 11 children attended the three-day event.
SPEAKERS included Auxiliary Board member Hormoz Bastani of Houston, Texas, and Dr. Allan Ward of Little Rock, Arkansas, a National Treasurer’s Representative.
The primary purpose of the gathering, according to Robert Spann, secretary of the District Teaching Committee, was to draw the Bahá’í institutions in the District together for consultation on teaching, expansion and consolidation.
Mr. Bastani spoke about the Covenant and its relationship to the Seven Year Plan and conducted a workshop on teaching using the “green book.”
Dr. Ward, speaking of the relationship between the Fund and teaching, emphasized universal participation as a measure of a community’s energy and direction.
Activities during the institute included a teaching project in Tyler, consultation on the institute’s theme, workshops, a children’s class, songs, and a deepening session.
Teaching Quiz
What are 7 Year Plan goals?[edit]
Are you helping to win the goals of the initial two-year phase of the Seven Year Plan?
Do you know what those goals are? If not, take the National Teaching Committee Quiz and discover what’s ahead for the American Bahá’í community.
Learn what we’ve been called upon to accomplish by the Universal House of Justice: What the goals for teaching minorities are, what Bahá’í youth have been urged to undertake, and how many Assemblies need to be raised. These are but a few of the many questions answered in this quiz.
To begin the quiz, read each question carefully, circle the best response, and compare your answers with the key at the end. NOW, what can you do to WIN the goals of this first phase of the Plan?
NATIONAL TEACHING COMMITTEE QUIZ
NOTE: In each question, circle the letter of the answer you believe to be the most correct.
1. The two-year phase of the Seven Year Plan in the U.S. calls for:
- A. Increasing the number of Local Spiritual Assemblies to
- 1) 1400
- 2) 1550
- 3) 1650
- 4) 2000
- B. Increasing the number of localities where Bahá’ís reside to
- 1) 7000
- 2) 7200
- 3) 7500
- 4) 8000
- C. At least 700 Local Spiritual Assemblies to
- 1) contribute to the Fund regularly
- 2) become incorporated
- 3) adopt extension teaching goals
- 4) meet more often
- D. The states of California, Illinois, New York and the District of Columbia to
- 1) use extreme caution in teaching non-Bahá’ís
- 2) be audacious and fearless in teaching the local authorities
- 3) aim at maintaining their present rate of growth
- 4) aim at doubling their membership
- 5) pray for the teaching work in the rest of the country
- E. Emphasizing the participation of Bahá’í youth in
- 1) social and cultural activities of various organizations
- 2) teaching and consolidation activities
- 3) youth Local Spiritual Assemblies
- 4) college fraternities and sororities
- F. The teaching work among the minorities to be
- 1) maintained
- 2) carefully reconsidered
- 3) intensified
- 4) temporarily abandoned
2. The teaching activity strongly advocated by the National Spiritual Assembly for the execution of the Plan is
- a) “community firesides”
- b) team teaching
- c) individual firesides
- d) all ways of teaching
- e) none of the above
3. The numbers 1, 5, 9, 15, 30
- a) are the last seven digits of the National Teaching Committee office’s WATS telephone number
- b) represent the systematic growth goals for any Bahá’í community
- c) are the important years in an individual’s life requiring special deepening
- d) represent a code, the meaning of which will become known at the end of the Seven Year Plan
4. “Phased and systematic” characterize
- a) teaching campaigns that consist only of firesides and public meetings
- b) any teaching project or activity except those that include playing the guitar and clapping
- c) the teaching plan with phased goals, adequate preparation, any or all methods of teaching, universal participation, and consistent follow-up
- d) the type of plan that allows for adequate rest and preparation for winning the majority of the goals during the last four to six months of a Plan
Answers: 3, 2, 3, 4, 2, 3, d, b, c
Kokomo MDs given plaques[edit]
The Spiritual Assembly of Kokomo, Indiana, in an attempt to reach a certain segment of the city’s population, spent many months preparing a special gift for each physician in Kokomo.
The gift was an 8 x 10 inch framed plaque with the message to physicians by ‘Abdu’l-Bahá from pages 150 and 151 of Selections From the Writings of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá.
The plaque was printed in calligraphy, surrounded by pressed flowers, and covered with handmade parchment.
Seventy plaques were personally presented to local physicians during Ayyám-i-Há. The Assembly has received numerous expressions of gratitude from physicians for the gift and the content of its message.
Unframed copies of the plaque are available to Bahá’ís for $2.50 postpaid from the Assembly secretary, Mildred Holmes, 1307 West Jefferson, Apt. 118-B, Kokomo, IN 46901.
Proceeds from the sales to Bahá’ís will be donated to the Bahá’í Funds.
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THE FUNDS
Spiritual progress, Faith’s growth require sacrifice[edit]
(EDITOR’S NOTE: This is the third in a series of articles prepared by the Office of the Treasurer on the basic principles of the Fund.)
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The Spirit of Sacrifice ...
“Behold a candle how it gives its light. It weeps away its life drop by drop in order to give forth its flame of light.” (‘Abdu’l-Bahá, quoted in May Maxwell, An Early Pilgrimage, p. 42)
Learning the mystery of sacrifice is a great challenge for every believer, for his spiritual progress, and the growth of the Faith itself, requires sacrifice.
The Bahá’í Fund is an ever-present means by which we can learn the joys of sacrifice.
Not every Bahá’í can leave his home to go pioneering or afford to deputize another, but, according to the Universal House of Justice, “Contributing to the Fund is a service that every believer can render, be he poor or wealthy; for this is a spiritual responsibility in which the amount given is not important. It is the degree of the sacrifice of the giver, the love with which he makes his gift, and the unity of all the friends in this service which bring spiritual confirmations.” (Wellspring of Guidance, p. 19)
Sacrifice, therefore, cannot be discussed in terms of dollars and cents, but rather, in terms of the attitude or spirit with which the gift is given, and the willingness with which other desires are foregone in order to contribute to the Faith.
As the Guardian says, “The harder the sacrifice the more meritorious it will be... in the sight of God.” (From a letter dated December 31, 1935, to an individual believer)
The Fruits of Sacrifice ...
It has been shown that the more one gives up for something, the more like that thing he becomes.
If acquiring material possessions is the most important thing in life to an individual, he will readily give up other pursuits in order to purchase more, gradually forgetting spiritual values and becoming consumed by materialism.
‘Abdu’l-Bahá uses the following analogy to demonstrate that spiritual growth depends upon the sacrifices we make for the Cause:
“Man must become like unto the iron thrown within the furnace of fire. The qualities of iron, such as blackness, coldness and solidity, which belong to the earth, disappear and vanish, while the characteristics of fire, such as redness, glowing and heat, which belong to the Kingdom, become apparent and visible. Therefore iron hath sacrificed its qualities and grades to the fire, acquiring the virtues of that element.” (Tablets of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, p. 355)
The more we give up for the Cause of God, the more like God we become. We learn severance, detachment, reliance on God, patience, and many other divine virtues.
Each act of sacrifice, then, results in something gained rather than something lost or given up.
Amelia Youssefi of Herndon, Virginia, says, ‘Happiness is giving to the Fund. Try it and see.’ (Photo by Ruthie Nylin)
Treasurer responds to questions from believers[edit]
Question: Why does the Office of the Treasurer often encourage believers to give to the National Fund individually? I thought that if I give to the local Fund this is sufficient, since the Assembly then makes a contribution to the National, Continental, and International Funds.
Answer: The principles that form the structure and guide the development of the Bahá’í Funds were expressed by Shoghi Effendi as he outlined the growth of the Administrative Order. We refer to these principles when advising the friends about their relationship to the Fund.
In a letter dated March 12, 1923, the Guardian outlined the importance of the Fund and its relationship to the Assembly:
“ ...it is of absolute necessity that immediately after the establishment of Local as well as National Spiritual Assemblies, a Bahá’í Fund be established, to be placed under the exclusive control of the Spiritual Assembly ... The members of the Spiritual Assembly will at their own discretion expend it ... to extend in every way possible their sphere of service.”
It is important to note Shoghi Effendi’s clarification that the Funds are under the control of the Assembly.
The Guardian, in a letter dated June 20, 1954, makes it clear that there is a distinction between money contributed by individuals and money contributed by Assemblies, using national contributions to the International Fund as an example:
“Any monies received as a contribution from the Bahá’ís for the International Centre should not be credited to this account which represents a national joint contribution, and has nothing to do with individual or local contributions forwarded to the World Centre in your care.”
Amelia Collins: Shining example of love for Cause[edit]
One need not have superhuman powers to accomplish great things for the Cause of God.
Every believer has the capacity to become a hero or heroine of the Cause in those days when we are so few and so much work needs to be done. All that is required is that we become motivated by a degree of love for the Cause that consumes every distracting thought.
One of the most wonderful examples we have regarding the relationship of an individual to the Faith is the life story of the Hand of the Cause of God Amelia Collins.
Many believers are aware of the large sums of money that Mrs. Collins was able to contribute to various Bahá’í projects, but what sets her apart is not the amount of these gifts, but the degree to which these donations were a reflection of her love for the Cause of God.
From the time Mrs. Collins became a Bahá’í, her life was one of complete dedication. She was an active, world-wide teacher and a member of the National Spiritual Assembly of the U.S. and Canada for 20 years, as well as an outstanding benefactress of the Faith.
Her contributions made possible the purchase of extensive land endowments in Israel, the publication of books, the extension of the teaching work throughout the world, and the support of many pioneers.
As for her private needs, Mrs. Collins lived quite simply. Her only wish was to be of service to the Guardian.
The pure love she held for him was the most profound evidence of her faith. The Hand of the Cause A.Q. Faizí writes in his tribute to her, Milly, that Mrs. Collins said she knew very little about the Writings.
“Out of the immense treasury of all the Writings,” she said, “I memorized one sentence and did my utmost to follow that one injunction.
“It served as a lamp of guidance, shedding light on the dark and obscure paths of my life.
“That phrase is from the Will and Testament of the Master, where He says that the friends should make Shoghi Effendi happy.
“Whatever step I took in my life, any vote cast in the Assemblies, any trip taken, even any thought, I would first ask myself whether my vote, words, trip or thought would make him happy. When I was sure, then I would take action without fear.”
Once, when hurrying to a meeting of the National Spiritual Assembly, Mrs. Collins noted that a home across from the House of Worship was for sale.
She instantly remembered a passing remark Shoghi Effendi made years before, encouraging the believers to purchase the homes around the Temple when they became available. Mrs. Collins immediately phoned the broker and purchased the house, unconcerned about the price.
After the death of the Guardian, Mrs. Collins continued her heroic efforts. She was the companion of Rúḥíyyih Khánum in the Holy Land. She met with the other Hands of the Cause as they temporarily guided the course of the Faith.
During this time Mrs. Collins was very ill, but continued to serve. The last letter taken to her for her signature bears only the letters “Am”; her aching fingers could write no more. Within days her spirit took flight to the Abhá Kingdom.
This was the example left to us by the Hand of the Cause of God Amelia Collins. Hers was a love so consuming and so pure that she lost her own identity and immersed herself in the Will of God.
AMELIA COLLINS
[Page 6]
YOUTH NEWS
‘Youth for One World’ formed in Southern California[edit]
A new children’s group, “Youth for One World,” has been formed in two counties in Southern California.
At its initial meeting, held in February at Redlands, 45 children ages 5 through 15 were enrolled in YOW.
The children played together and got to know new friends from all over San Bernardino and Riverside counties.
MORE CHILDREN were enrolled in the group at meetings in March and April.
First envisioned a year ago as a kind of Bahá’í scouting organization, Youth for One World began with a suggestion to the Spiritual Assembly of Redlands.
A committee was formed to come up with guidelines and plan an organization for Bahá’í children.
YOW was developed as an areawide group for children ages 5 to 15, designed to provide them with a Bahá’í social environment, promote a Bahá’í identity, and help them develop virtues and a Bahá’í point of view.
Spiritual Assemblies, Groups and isolated believers in a large area around Redlands were asked to participate in YOW by hosting monthly meetings on a rotating basis.
During the meetings, children are encouraged to complete activities listed in their YOW member manuals under nine areas, such as “Your Spirit” and “Your Bahá’í Community.”
THEY REPORT their points to their local YOW coordinator at local meetings, and coordinators then send for the awards they earn with YOW points.
Awards are presented at the monthly meetings.
Children have been eagerly completing activities from the manuals, and making sure that they attend the monthly meetings.
In April, close to 50 YOW members and adults drove two hours or more for a meeting near Palm Springs, where they visited a botanical garden.
The children take an active role in consulting on YOW activities and proudly wear their uniform shirts to school and elsewhere.
Teaching opportunities have arisen because of the visibility of the children in a large group in their brightly-colored YOW uniforms.
The Spiritual Assembly of Redlands has a starter kit for communities that would like to start their own YOW group. It includes member manual, YOW coordinator manual, directions for starting a YOW group, and sample awards.
If your community would like a kit, please send $10 to cover the cost of materials and postage to YOW, P.O. Box 229, Redlands, CA 92373.
Inquiries can be directed to that address, or phone 714-793-7291.
Forty-five youngsters from two counties in Southern California gathered in February at Redlands for the first meeting of a new Bahá’í children’s group, ‘Youth for One World.’
Dr. Iraj Ayman, a Continental Counsellor for Western Asia, addresses a public meeting May 9 at Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois. The meeting, sponsored by the Bahá’í Club at Northwestern, had as its theme ‘A Pattern for Future Society.’ It was preceded by the mailing of Bahá’í literature to more than 100 faculty members and administrators at the university.
Counsellor Ayman guest at Northwestern meeting[edit]
Dr. Iraj Ayman, a Continental Counsellor for Western Asia, was the guest speaker May 9 at a public meeting at Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois.
Dr. Ayman’s talk, sponsored by the Bahá’í Club of Northwestern University, was entitled “A Pattern for Future Society.”
The public program was a follow-up to the presentation of books and pamphlets on the Faith to members of the university’s faculty.
Thirty-two copies of the book Call to the Nations by Shoghi Effendi were presented to the president of the university, deans of its various schools, and other faculty members, along with a cover letter from the Bahá’í Club.
A week later, approximately 100 copies of the pamphlet, “A Pattern for Future Society,” were sent to other faculty members at Northwestern.
“It was the feeling of the Bahá’í Club,” said club president Ken Bowers, “that the leaders of thought at the university should be introduced to and become familiar with the tenets of the Faith and the principles enunciated by Bahá’u’lláh for the foundation of a peaceful and progressive society.”
Comment[edit]
Continued From Page 2
the skills of its writers need to be developed and nurtured for the expansion and protection of the Faith.
With a greater awareness of new standards of literary criticism, we shall increase both the professionalism and the integrity of Bahá’í publications.
The Universal House of Justice concludes its letter to scholars with these words:
“The distinction desired by ‘Abdu’l-Bahá for all Bahá’ís is certainly for attainment by Bahá’í scholars, who by following the exhortations of Bahá’u’lláh to moderation, kindliness, tact and wisdom, may restore scholarship to that high station of dignity and admiration which it formerly held and which is confirmed by the utterances of Bahá’u’lláh.”
Caution is urged[edit]
The National Spiritual Assembly wishes to advise the friends that they should exercise caution in entering into financial dealings with Robert Jeff Banks, formerly of Calabasas-Topanga, California.
NEW
Greeting Cards Available!
- ■ For happy occasions
- ■ Get-well cards
- ■ Sympathy cards
See details in Publishing Trust ad on page 27
Andishe Samandari, a 13-year-old junior high school student in Colorado Springs, Colorado, recently won first place in the Pike’s Peak Regional Science Fair. Her entry, entitled ‘The Effect of Magnetism on the Growth of Crystals,’ was judged by U.S. Air Force officials as the most outstanding in the junior high school physical sciences division. Miss Samandari’s project was awarded third place in the Colorado State Fair competition, and her school has given her a ‘most talented student’ prize and named her an exemplary student. Andishe was born in East Africa where her parents were Bahá’í pioneers for 19 years.
Johns Hopkins Bahá’ís proclaim Faith[edit]
To prepare their intended audience for upcoming proclamation activities, members of the Bahá’í Club at Johns Hopkins University in Maryland sent letters to faculty and students in March focusing on Bahá’í guidelines for a world government.
The letters also provided information about symposia on “Prospects for World Peace” to be held April 13-16 at the University. The proclamation efforts were designed to tie in with a statewide “Bahá’í Festival” at that time.
The club received an immediate response from the Dean of Students at the Johns Hopkins Medical School, one of four administrators chosen to receive special commendation from the Bahá’í Club.
The dean shared with club members his family’s treasured friendship with a Bahá’í during their stay in Iran.
[Page 7]
YOUTH NEWS
61 youth attend Texas ‘Touchstone’[edit]
Some of the friends at the Texas ‘Touchstone’ Youth Conference help Beth Hufstickler of Castroville, Texas (with guitar) in a sing-along.
Sixty-one youth from Texas and surrounding areas attended the first Texas “Touchstone” Youth Conference March 14-16 sponsored by the Spiritual Assembly of San Marcos, Texas.
Among those attending the conference was Auxiliary Board member Hormoz Bastani.
THE GATHERING, held at Camp Huaco Springs on the Guadalupe River, included deepenings entitled “Onward Through the Fog,” “The Bahá’í View of Human Sexuality,” and “The Covenant,” conducted by Stacy Dobbins of Fort Worth.
The youth spent one afternoon in groups creating and performing their own skits. There was much laughter, lively discussion, deep reflection, and new-found talent.
Much of the time was spent getting acquainted, playing volleyball, singing, dancing and sitting by a fire. There was a Bahá’í version of “Saturday Night Live” that ended in a sing-along.
Before the close of the conference, the District Teaching Committee helped establish local youth groups.
Everyone left with new friendships, a new resolve to work more closely together, and a promise from the Bahá’ís of San Marcos to host another conference next year.
World Citizen twin issue released, draws praise[edit]
The special double issue of World Citizen magazine, containing the first authorized translation of the so-called “Fire Tablet,” has been printed and is drawing praise from all over the country.
As a result of the popularity of this impressive issue, subscriptions have increased, and many people have inquired about buying single copies, which are sure to become collector’s items.
The editors of World Citizen have announced prices for single issues of the magazine.
For subscribers, extra copies will be $2.50 an issue. For nonsubscribers, single issues may be purchased for $3.50 each. At this time, a one-year subscription to the magazine (six issues) is $8.
World Citizen now has more than 400 subscribers, and the special double issue should increase that number substantially. In addition to the “Fire Tablet,” the March-June issue features 56 pages of articles, poems, photos, stories and puzzles.
The July-August issue will be mailed this summer, and the editors would like to encourage all youth to subscribe, to contribute articles, and to support the magazine.
Inquiries about World Citizen should be addressed to Shervin Hawley, 10110 Margate Drive, Houston, TX 77099.
Utah youth form committee[edit]
Youth from all over the state of Utah attended a District Youth Conference last November 17-18 at which a District Youth Committee was formed.
Energetic and ready for action, the youth discussed and consulted on the three basic aspects of the conference: Bahá’í youth and their social peer groups, fellowship among Bahá’í youth, and teaching.
AUXILIARY BOARD member Ernest Bruss spoke to the youth about coping with a deteriorating society and the importance of avoiding political issues. As a result of the consultation, Blanding, Utah, became a primary goal area for the youth.
Over the past four months, three extensive teaching trips have been undertaken by the youth in Utah.
Blanding, in the southern area of the state and bordering the Southern Ute and Navajo Reservations, posed a rather difficult obstacle since most of the youth live in the northern or central parts of Utah. For many, the trip to Blanding took six to nine hours.
But despite these difficulties, the youth accomplished their goal.
The first trip, which took place last December 26-28, was in the form of a social gathering to “break the ice.” The other two trips were geared toward teaching.
A large dinner was held during the second trip, February 16-17, where the Iranian believers taught the others how to make fry bread. Later that evening, four seekers attended a public meeting.
AS A RESULT of the third trip, March 15-16, there was a declaration, bringing the number of Bahá’ís in Blanding to eight adults and a large number of children.
Friends traveled from Arizona and New Mexico to share their love and teaching efforts, and to support a 24-hour prayer watch.
Remaining strong and active, the youth are continuing their teaching efforts and planning future events.
Cedar City, Utah, with one isolated believer, is among future teaching goals. During the weekend of April 18, a musical proclamation was planned with a fireside to follow.
These musical proclamations, featuring John Ford Coley, Leslie Bulkin, and Chip and Kelly Bruss, were continued in May and June, with a major proclamation held in Salt Lake City.
The recently-formed Bahá’í Youth Club of Sonoma County, California, held its first meeting May 10 and planned meetings for the first Sunday of each month thereafter. Club members are (seated left to right) Shannon Sullivan, Mrs. Susan Miller, and (standing left to right) Mike Bryan II (chairman), Heather Sullivan (treasurer), Kelley Bryan (corresponding secretary), Jeff Engwall (recording secretary).
Essay contest deadline extended[edit]
The National Youth Committee’s national essay contest deadline has been extended to September 1, 1980, to give all youth an opportunity to enter.
The essay topic is “Why Should I Be a Bahá’í?” Ten winners will be chosen, and winning entries printed in The American Bahá’í.
Submit your essay (two pages double-spaced) to the National Youth Committee, 112 Linden Avenue, Wilmette, IL 60091.
[Page 8]
INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY
International Community hosts ‘Right to Development’ lunch[edit]
The Bahá’í International Community hosted a successful luncheon program May 1 at the United Nations on the theme “The Right to Development: Exploring Its Human Dimensions.”
The meeting included two main speakers: Dr. Ervin Laszlo, a member of the UN Institute for Training and Research and the prestigious Club of Rome, and Dr. Jane Faily, a clinical psychologist specializing in group therapy who spent nearly a year in 1978-79 visiting Bahá’í communities in West Africa as the Bahá’í International Community’s consultant in Africa for the International Year of the Child.
THE GATHERING was attended by representatives of government missions to the UN, members of the UN Secretariat, and representatives of non-governmental organizations at the UN.
The purpose of the luncheon, according to Dr. Victor de Araujo, the Bahá’í International Community’s representative to the UN, was to focus attention on the interrelationship between human rights and social and economic development, and to try to demonstrate that the complex economic and social problems we face cannot be resolved without new moral and spiritual standards built on a consciousness of the organic oneness of humanity.
The Bahá’í International Community, he said, is aware of the importance of deliberations now under way at the UN to effect a new developmental strategy for the ’80s and is continually alert to the possibility of making a contribution to these deliberations that will culminate in a special session of the UN General Assembly from August 25 to September 5 of this year.
In opening the meeting, Dr. de Araujo explained that the Bahá’í International Community wished to explore the human dimensions of the right to development and investigate the kind of development we want for ourselves, our families and the world.
DR. LASZLO, speaking on the “Social Implications of the New International Development Strategy,” said he felt the Bahá’í idea of the organic oneness of humanity is much-needed, and that the global negotiations now under way at the UN are an essential forerunner of an order for all humanity as well as part of the slow and difficult process that will lead to the emergence of the kind of world commonwealth envisaged in the Bahá’í teachings.
He said that whereas the global development strategies of the ’60s and ’70s had primarily economic objectives, his studies indicate that the new strategy seems likely to place its greatest emphasis on social questions.
There is, he feels, a new recognition of development as “an integral process embodying both economic and social objectives.”
Dr. Faily discussed the “Search for Common Values” and the dichotomy that exists between what every enlightened person realizes—that we are one globe and one humanity—and the problems we face because of short term political antagonisms.
“We are speaking about the need for a new international order,” she said, “and we live in an age of terrific disorder.
“THE SOURCE of that disorder is the evolution of the planet. Institutions and ideologies we have inherited from history are not yet capable of implementing the fact of the oneness of this planet, and the disorder created by this inherited system is what brings us to living in days of crisis, even though, mentally, we can see and understand the need for global consciousness.”
The most powerful and life-threatening delusions, said Dr. Faily, are racism and nationalism. She then described some of their effects in our world today.
Unity, she said, is the essential ingredient required for the wellbeing of mankind. Order depends upon trust, whose two components—justice and love—are necessary to the healthy growth of the human spirit.
Dr. Faily concluded: “ ...whatever our immediate perils, whatever calamities we will choose to experience in our pursuit of material security, the ultimate outcome must be in conformity with reality—the pragmatic reality that this world is one homeland, and the spiritual reality that mankind is one family.”
DR. ERVIN LASZLO
‘A New Development Strategy’
DR. JANE FAILY
‘A Search for Common Values’
Mayor R.E. Hobbs (center) of Victoria, Texas, receives a ‘Great Religions of the World’ art medal from Gilbert Rucker (right), chairman of the Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of Victoria, and Gay Hill, secretary of the Assembly. The presentation was a part of the Victoria community’s commemoration of World Religion Day in January.
Questions[edit]
Continued From Page 5
Whenever the Guardian called the attention of the believers to the needs of any of the Funds, or the establishment of a new Fund, he always called for support by believers as individuals and as communities. For example, in a letter dated July 29, 1935, he wrote:
“ ...the institution of the National Fund should be increasingly supported by the entire body of the believers, both in their individual capacities, and through their collective efforts, whether organized as Groups or as Local Assemblies (emphasis added).”
Such examples can be found over and over again in the letters of Shoghi Effendi. When individuals and communities begin to understand and practice this divine, infallible guidance from the Guardian, our unified efforts will attract the blessings of Bahá’u’lláh.
Citing contributions to the Fund as one aspect of universal participation, the Universal House of Justice stated: “The participation of every believer is of the utmost importance, and is a source of power and vitality as yet unknown to us.” (Wellspring of Guidance, p. 38)
Question: How can an individual or Assembly send a contribution to the International Fund?
Answer: There are three ways in which contributions can be sent to the World Centre.
The first method is to make a check payable to the Bahá’í International Fund and mail it directly to the Bahá’í World Centre, P.O. Box 155, Haifa, Israel 31-000. Contributions made in this way are not tax-deductible.
A second possibility is to make a check payable to the National Bahá’í Fund and to earmark all or part of the total amount which you wish sent to Haifa. The address for the National Fund is Office of the Treasurer, Bahá’í National Center, 112 Linden Avenue, Wilmette, IL 60091. Contributions made in this way also are not tax-deductible.
The third method does provide individuals with a way to take advantage of a tax deduction. Simply make a check payable to the National Bahá’í Fund and, in a note, express the “wish,” “hope” or “desire” that all or part of the total be sent to the Bahá’í International Fund.
Question: Can the National Spiritual Assembly report on the progress of contributions from the American Bahá’í community to the International Fund?
Answer: At present it is not possible to provide regular information on this subject since the National Spiritual Assembly has no way to monitor contributions sent directly to Haifa. We do know that about $2.5 million has already been contributed to the Bahá’í International Fund through the National Fund. This is in addition to the $1 million budgeted for that purpose by the National Spiritual Assembly, and is 19 times greater than the amount contributed in this way last year.
In a letter dated December 3, 1979, the Universal House of Justice advised the National Assembly that information regarding contributions from the American Bahá’í community could be available by the summer of 1980. The National Spiritual Assembly would then consider the best means for reporting these figures to the friends.
In its letter, the Universal House of Justice asked the National Assembly to express to the American believers its “grateful appreciation for their immediate and generous support of the international work of the Cause.”
Question: Is there still time to contribute to the construction of the Seat of the Universal House of Justice?
Plan a Deepening on the Seven Year Plan!
For new booklet and cassettes see Publishing Trust ad on page 27.
Answer: As of April 1980, there has been no “cutoff date” announced for such contributions. At present, exterior construction of the building is complete, while work continues on the interior and on landscaping. There is still time to participate in funding construction of the Seat of the Universal House of Justice, an opportunity that will never occur again.
[Page 9]
PÁGINA HISPANA
Editorial[edit]
A TODOS LOS HISPANO-HABLANTES DE LOS ESTADOS UNIDOS Alláh’u’Abhá!
Desde el pasado mes de diciembre, la Asamblea Nacional nombró un Comité Nacional de Enseñanza Hispana, para atender, promover e intensificar la labor de promulgar, y consolidar las enseñanzas Bahá’ís entre los más de veinte millones de personas que hablan el bello idioma hispano, en este país.
Este Comité está integrado por: Dr. Antonio Cubero (Largo, Florida); Ms. Marilyn Sanchez (Phoenix, Arizona); Lionel González (Bergenfield, New Jersey); Ms. Regina Anchondo (Balcones Heights, Texas); Mrs. Maud Grasselly (Zion, Illinois); and Ms. Angelica Arhontogiorgis (Los Angeles, California).
LAS REUNIONES de Comité se realizan periódicamente en los estados metas, tratando de realizar alguna labor de enseñanza. Nuestros planes son inmensos, pero prácticamente inalcanzables, sino recibimos la cooperación de todos los Bahá’ís hispanos, Comités de Distritos y Asambleas Locales.
Sabemos que la comunidad hispánica será una minoría muy influyente en las próximas décadas, por lo que tenemos el deber y la responsabilidad ineludible de enseñarles, “EL ULTIMO REFUGIO DE UNA CIVILIZACION DECADENTE”: LA FE BAHÁ’Í.
La Asamblea Nacional nos ha dado metas específicas: desean que ingresen miles de hispanos a nuestras comunidades, que se profundicen los creyentes, que se consoliden las Asambleas, pero sobre todo que los hispanos nos integremos más al trabajo de nuestras comunidades con todo el amor Bahá’í, que este entendimiento y esperanza en Bahá’u’lláh, nos haga eliminar las diferencias idiomáticas y culturales y nos integremos como Bahá’ís, haciendo una realidad el principio de la unidad en la diversidad. Es nuestro deber pedir a las comunidades americanas, que en las fiestas de 19 días, se lean selecciones en español, que se traduzcan las cartas, que en las Asambleas siempre haya quien traduzca para aquellos que no hablan inglés. Tenemos muchos planes, pero exhortamos a todos, a contribuir más al fondo Bahá’í para poderlos llevar a una realidad. Ya está listo, un plan para un curso de lecciones por Correspondencia que enviaremos a todas las comunidades hispanas en Estados Unidos.
HAY PLANES para nuevas traducciones de libros, aumentar la existencia de libros en español en el Bahá’í Trust; así como películas, programas radiales y para televisión, láminas etc. y traer de otros países hispanos materiales que necesitamos para enseñar y profundizar.
Tenemos un extenso plan de enseñanza entre los hispanos de la frontera, en New York, New Mexico, Florida pero necesitamos tu ayuda.
Deseamos urgente
Ora por nosotros y por todos los hispanos de Estados Unidos para que lleguen a ellos la luz de la fe. Contribuye al fondo Bahá’í no importa la cantidad. Tu centavo es muy importante si lo haces en forma regular y te unes a la contribución universal.
Envíanos los nombres, direcciones y teléphonos de los Bahá’ís hispanos de tu comunidad. Nombres de prominentes líderes hispanos de tu comunidad (abogados, médicos, profesores, profesionales, otros líderes etc.), para que conozcan el mensaje Bahá’í. Instituciones hispánicas, fiestas, ferias etc., que celebren.
Nombres de periódicos, revistas, estaciones de radio y televisión hispánicas etc. de tu comunidad. Fotos y artículos de actividades Bahá’í hispánicas.
HAY QUE PROCLAMAR a todos el mensaje de Bahá’u’lláh. Unete a nosotros y por favor, escríbenos, dános tus sugerencias, ya que nuestro Comité sólo existe para el servicio de los hispanos en Estados Unidos.
Queremos compartir con todos ustedes la siguiente cita de Bahá’u’lláh.
“Bienaventurado y feliz es aquel que se levanta para promover los mejores intereses de los pueblos y razas de la tierra... No debe enaltecerse quien ama a su patria, sino quien ama al mundo entero. La Tierra es un solo paíis, y la humanidad, sus ciudadanos.”
“Todas las naciones y razas de la tierra serán reunidas bajo la sombra de este Estandarte Divino... y llegarán a ser una sola nación. El antagonismo religioso y sectario, la hostilidad de razas y pueblos, y las diferencias entre naciones serán eliminadas. Todos los hombres se aferrarán a una religión, tendrán una fe común, serán unidas en una raza y llegarán a ser un solo pueblo. Todos morarán en una patria común, que es el planeta mismo.”
“Todo lo que está latente en lo más íntimo de este ciclo sagrado gradualmente aparecerá y se hará manifiesto, pues ahora sólo es el comienzo de su crecimiento y la aurora de la revelación de sus signos.”
Regina Anchondo, secretary
4100 Parkdale, Apt. 3615
San Antonio, Texas 78229
Enseñanzas Bahá’ís sobre la política[edit]
En este mundo políticamente orientado, es necesario que los bahá’ís no cometan actos imprudentes e ignorantes. He aquí los principios que deben guiar nuestra relación con las campañas políticas:
1. El bahá’í no puede ser miembro de ningún partido u organización política que apoye a un partido político, ni asociarse con ellos.
2. ES IMPROPIO que un bahá’í contribuya fondos o servicios a un partido o campaña políticas.
3. Sin embargo, el bahá’í está libre de ejercer su derecho como ciudadano de los Estados Unidos para votar por candidatos en las elecciones nacionales y locales como dicte su conciencia. Si quiere inscribirse como votante, debe clasificarse como independiente.
Es importante que entendamos las implicaciones del principio bahá’í de la no interferencia en los asuntos políticos. En una carta a las Asambleas Espirituales Nacionales de Africa, con fecha 8 febrero de 1970, la Casa Universal de Justicia dijo:
“ ‘Abdu’l-Bahá y Shoghi Effendi nos han dado razones claras y convincentes del por qué debemos defender este principio. Estas razones se resumen a continuación para el estudio y profundización de los amigos.
“Es nuestra esperanza que estas observaciones no solo ayuden a los amigos a seguir inteligente y radiantemente las sagradas enseñanzas sobre el particular, sino que les ayude a explicar la actitud bahá’í a los que duden de su sabiduría y utilidad.
“La Fe de Dios es la única fuente de salvación para la humanidad hoy día. La verdadera causa del malestar de la humanidad es su desunión.
“POR MAS PERFECTA que sea la maquinaria ideada por los líderes de los hombres para la unidad política del mundo, aun así no producirá el antidoto para el veneno que va debilitando el vigor de la sociedad actual. Estos males solamente pueden ser curados mediante la influencia de la Fe de Dios.
“La humanidad tiene muchos bienhechores quienes concentran sus esfuerzos a la labor de socorrer y proveer caridad para el bienestar material del hombre, pero solamente los bahá’ís pueden hacer el trabajo que Dios quiere que más se haga.
“Cuando nos dedicamos al trabajo de la Fe, estamos haciendo una obra que constituye la más grande ayuda y único refugio a un mundo necesitado y dividido.
“La comunidad bahá’í es una organización a nivel mundial que busca establecer la verdadera paz universal sobre la tierra. Si un bahá’í trabajara por un partido político para que venza a otro, esto sería una negación del espíritu mismo de la Fe.
“Por lo tanto, el ser miembro de cualquier partido político implicaría el repudio de algunos o todos los principios de paz y unidad proclamados por Bahá’u’lláh. Tal como declara ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, ‘Nuestro partido es el partido de Dios; no pertenecemos a ningún partido.’
“Si un bahá’í insistiera en su derecho de apoyar a cierto partido político, no podría negar el mismo grado de libertad a otros creyentes.
“ESTO IMPLICARÍA que dentro de las filas de la Fe, cuya misión primordial es la de unir a todos los hombres en una gran familia bajo Dios, habría bahá’ís unos opuestos a otros. ¿Dónde, entonces, estaría el ejemplo de unidad y armonía que el mundo busca?
“Si las instituciones de la Fe (¡Dios lo prohiba!), se metieran en la política, los bahá’ís estarían causando antagonismos en vez de amor. Si tomaran cierta postura en un país, ello seguramente cambiaría la opinión de la gente en otro país sobre los fines y propósitos de la Fe.
“Si se metieran en las disputas políticas, los bahá’ís mismos, en vez de cambiar el mundo o de ayudarlo, se perderían y se destruirían. La situación mundial es tan confusa, tan confundida, con sus facciones egoístas en pugna, que la mejor manera en que los bahá’ís pueden servir los más altos intereses de su país y a la causa de la verdadera salvación del mundo, es sacrificar sus intereses y afiliaciones políticas y dar su pleno apoyo con todo corazón al sistema divino de Bahá’u’lláh.
La Fe no se opone a los verdaderos intereses de ninguna nación; tampoco está contra ningún partido o facción.
“Se halla por encima de toda controversia y las trasciende, a la vez que recomienda a sus seguidores, lealtad al gobierno y un patriotismo sano.
El ejercicio de la moderación en la vestimenta es importante[edit]
El ejercicio de la moderación en la vestimenta, en el lenguaje y en los entretenimientos es importante.
“Una vida casta y santa ha de ser el principio controlador en el comportamiento y conducta de todo bahá’í, tanto en sus relaciones sociales con los miembros de su propia comunidad como en su contacto con el mundo en general.” escribe Shoghi Effendi en El Advenimiento de la Justicia Divina.
El Guardián continúa: “Tal vida casta y santa, con su implicación de modestia, pureza, templanza, decencia y pensamiento limpio, involucra no menos que el ejercicio de la moderación en todo lo que pertenezca a la vestimenta, al lenguaje, a los entretenimientos y a toda avocación artística y literaria.
“REQUIERE la vigilancia diaria en el control de los deseos carnales e inclinaciones corruptas. Requiere el abandono de la conducta frívola con su apego excesivo a los placeres triviales y a menudo mal dirigidos. Requiere la abstinencia total de las drogas que forman hábito.
“Condena la prostitución del arte y de la literatura, la práctica del nudismo y del concubinato.
“Cuando su vida está orientada hacia el servicio a Bahá’u’lláh, y cuando cada acción consciente se haga dentro de este marco, no fallará en lograr el verdadero propósito de su vida.
“Por lo tanto, cada creyente debe estudiar continuamente los Sagrados Escritos y las instrucciones del amado Guardián, esforzándose siempre por llegar a una comprensión renovada y mejor de su importancia para él y para la sociedad.
“Debe orar fervorosamente por la guía divina, por la sabiduría y la fuerza de hacer lo que complazca a Dios, y de servirlo en todo momento y al máximo de su capacidad.”
Profundización[edit]
CUESTIONARIO NO. 2
- ¿Después de la muerte del Báb quién fue el líder de la comunidad Bábí?
- ¿Cuál era el nombre de Bahá’u’lláh? ¿Qué quiere decir su título?
- ¿Quién era Bahá’u’lláh?
- ¿Dónde y cómo recibió la llegada del Espíritu Santo para comenzar su misión?
- ¿En qué lugar vivió Bahá’u’lláh durante dos años y por qué?
- ¿Cuándo y dónde declaró Bahá’u’lláh su misión como el prometido de todas las Épocas?
- ¿A qué lugares fue desterrado Bahá’u’lláh y sus seguidores?
- ¿Cuáles importantes cartas escribió Bahá’u’lláh en Adrianópolis?
- ¿A qué lugar infernal fue desterrado Bahá’u’lláh?
- Este lugar está profetizado en la Biblia. Recuerda Ud la cita. Búsquela en Isaías 65:10.
[Page 10]
IGC: PIONEERING
Letters from pioneers[edit]
Dear Friends:
‘Alláh’u’Abhá! Thank you for answering my letter in The American Bahá’í.
My mother is typing this letter on a stencil while I dictate it because I have received more than 40 letters so far and I am having difficulty answering each one separately.
I’d like to begin by telling you a little about myself. I am nine years old now. I came from Alameda, California, to pioneer in the Falkland Islands in April 1976 with my mother and father.
I HAVE BEEN HERE almost four years now. I don’t have any brothers or sisters. I like to play soccer. I am on a league team named Redskin Rovers. We play every two weeks or so, on weekends. The other teams are the Hotshots and Dynamo Devils.
I also like to go fishing. There is very good fishing in the Falklands. You can catch mullet or trout. The record trout caught is 20 pounds!
My mother’s name is Jeanne. My father’s name is Duffy. My mother is a secretary; she works for the Falkland Islands government. My father is an artist. He paints portraits and landscapes.
I am in Class 5 in school. My teacher is Mr. Townsend. We just finished our summer vacation in February and started a new class. My favorite subject is reading, and then math.
I have 18 people in my class. At playtime I like to play football, catch, last touch, pig-in-the-middle, and high jumps.
My best friend is Leonardo Blanco from Argentina. Leo and I fly kites, ride our bikes, play football, make boats and rafts, and houses, and generally have fun. Sometimes we talk in English and sometimes in Spanish—and sometimes in Spanglish!
I BELONG TO the Bahá’í community of Stanley, which is the only town in the Falklands. It has the only Local Spiritual Assembly.
The rest of the Falklands is made up of sheep farms called settlements, and anything outside of Stanley is referred to as “the camp.”
There are two Bahá’í families living in the camp and one single Bahá’í living on different farms now.
In town we have Bahá’í children’s classes every week on Mondays. Classes have just begun again after the summer vacation. Last year we studied Japan, Spain, India and Africa.
We did two cooking projects—Rabanadas and Peanut Soup. We also did origami. We made birds with it, and balls from folded paper. We also do painting and coloring. First we have prayers and Hidden Words, which we are memorizing, and then we have eats and artwork.
Last year our Bahá’í community sponsored an Art Contest for the International Year of the Child; 180 children entered the contest, including me.
I HELPED by going on the radio because we don’t have any television here in the Falklands. I was on the radio three times.
The winners got prizes including a beautiful certificate made by one of the Bahá’ís in the community and prizes ordered from UNICEF.
We had a display of the pictures at the Town Hall where the prizes were given by the Chief Secretary’s wife. There were slide shows about UNICEF and IYC, and a Bahá’í display. The winning pictures were sent to UNICEF for possible use in the 1981 UNICEF calendar.
Last year we had the first Bahá’í summer school in the camp. It was held at Port Stephens. There were 17 Bahá’ís there, which is nearly all the Bahá’ís in the Falklands.
There were classes for the grown-ups and the children. We went on outings and rode horses. There were slide shows and parties in the evenings, and I gave a magic show with my magic kit. It was lots of fun.
This year the summer school is going to be at Port San Carlos in two weeks time, the weekend after Naw-Rúz. We’re really looking forward to flying out there for it.
I SPENT TWO WEEKS of my summer holiday at Port San Carlos with the Bahá’í family there. They came from North Dakota a year ago.
While I was there I got to ride horses, went fishing and caught nine mullet in one day. I got up at 6 in the morning and helped milk the cows. There are four rows with milking machines and eight get milked by machine, but one, which we named Black Beauty, gets milked by hand.
Black Beauty has a baby calf, which is a steer. We named him Peter Pan. We found some fossils behind one of the dog kennels. They were shell impressions in rock. They were in a gulley in the ground.
In early February my father had an exhibition of his paintings in Mar del Plata, Argentina. The whole family went for two weeks. We went to the beaches, and it was very hot. It was nice to visit another country and practice our Spanish!
We were invited to the home of a famous race car driver where we had an asado (Argentine barbecue) and spent the day swimming and playing football. (I really love playing football. Our football is what Americans call soccer.)
We went to the park and rented a pedal car and a ferry boat. We went to a club to see antique cars, and they had a paddling pool with a frog. We had a big asado there too.
WE MET WITH the chairman and secretary of the National Spiritual Assembly of Argentina and they came to my father’s exhibition. They really liked the paintings, especially the one of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá that had next to it an explanation of who He was and what His Father’s teachings are. We enjoyed the trip very much, and hope to be able to go again sometime.
In many of the letters that I received, people asked about pioneering in the Falkland Islands. My mother suggests that if any of you really want information about pioneering here, it is best to write to the International Goals Committee in Wilmette, as they have lots of information they could send you.
If after that you still have special questions, you can write to our Assembly. Their address is: Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of Stanley, P.O. Box 50, Stanley, Falkland Islands.
Well, I will close for now, and hope to hear from you again soon. Thank you for writing to me.
Your friend,
Stanley, Falkland Islands
The Hand of the Cause of God John Robarts (front row in light jacket) and his wife, Audrey (to his right) are shown with members of the Bermuda Bahá’í community during their visit to the island April 3-9.
Hand of Cause Robarts, wife encourage Bermuda[edit]
The Hand of the Cause of God John Robarts and his wife, Audrey, visited Bermuda April 3-9, encouraging the Bahá’í community there to redouble its efforts to form at least seven Local Spiritual Assemblies prior to forming its National Spiritual Assembly at Riḍván 1981.
While in Bermuda Mr. and Mrs. Robarts met with the Bermuda Teaching Committee, hosted a public meeting, and were interviewed on radio and by newspapers.
Their visit helped infuse new life into the Bermudian Bahá’í community as Mr. Robarts emphasized again and again that victories can be won if the friends place their trust in the power of prayer and Bahá’u’lláh.
In some parishes in Bermuda the prospect of re-forming or re-electing the Spiritual Assemblies this year seemed bleak. However, five of the six existing Assemblies were re-formed at Riḍván.
European Youth Conference set[edit]
A European Bahá’í Youth Conference will be held September 6-10 at Fiesch, Switzerland.
The conference, sponsored by the Continental Board of Counsellors and organized by the National Spiritual Assembly of Switzerland, is for youth from 15 to 25/30 years of age.
The conference theme is “Turning to Bahá’u’lláh.” A Hand of the Cause of God and three Counsellors will be present.
Activities will include speeches, music, recreation, informal evenings and films.
Valid Bahá’í credentials are obligatory. Close seekers (except those from the Middle East) will be accepted if they carry a letter of recommendation from a Bahá’í institution.
Registrations must be received by August 15. For information, contact the International Goals Committee, 112 Linden Avenue, Wilmette, IL 60091.
Auction in Spokane[edit]
Between 40 and 45 people participated in an auction February 24 sponsored by the Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of Spokane County, Washington, Commissioner’s District No. 2 that raised $739 for the International Bahá’í Fund.
Items offered for sale ranged from paintings, out-of-print books and Bahá’í jewelry to handcrafted toys and stuffed animals, homemade jams and jellies, fresh fruits, and dried flower arrangements.
Guyana plans summer coastal teaching trips[edit]
The National Spiritual Assembly of Guyana extends a warm welcome to Bahá’ís in different parts of the world to come and teach in a tropical country with a wonderful diversity of race, religion and culture.
Teaching trips are planned this summer in the coastal regions of Guyana as well as in the river and creek areas and the interior of the country.
The teaching project is scheduled to begin August 5 and continue through the month of August. The goal is to enroll at least 1,000 new believers by the end of 1980.
For further information, please contact the International Goals Committee, 112 Linden Avenue, Wilmette, IL 60091, or phone 312-256-4400.
[Page 11]
IGC: PIONEERING
Beautiful Bermuda nears National Assembly status[edit]
By MORRIS TAYLOR JR.
Bermuda has been described as a beautiful gem, an inviting cluster of sparkling islands situated hundreds of miles from its closest neighbors.
Its landscape, with an abundance of soft pink beaches and semi-tropical verdure, is indeed lovely, and is exceeded only by the genuine warmth and kindliness of the Bermudians themselves.
A LITTLE MORE than two decades ago, the first Spiritual Assembly in Bermuda was formed.
Today, the lovely islands, whose population is nearly 60,000, boast an active and dedicated Bahá’í community that is destined to form a National Spiritual Assembly at the first National Convention of Bermuda on April 24-26, 1981.
There is much work to be done to prepare for that momentous occasion. Many of these tasks can be completed only with the help of pioneers and traveling teachers.
The Bahá’í community of Bermuda is presently under the jurisdiction of the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the U.S.
Eleven localities in Bermuda are open to the Faith, with five Spiritual Assemblies (seven are needed by Riḍván 1981).
There is a Bermuda Teaching Committee, appointed annually by the U.S. National Spiritual Assembly. Several members of the Bermudian Bahá’í community have had the bounty of pilgrimage, pioneering or traveling teaching, and a group regularly attends the U.S. National Convention.
BERMUDA IS about 21 square miles in size—the most northerly group of coral islands in the world—and lies 700 miles southeast of New York City and about 900 miles east of the Carolinas.
It is a British colony with a governor appointed by the Queen and its own elected parliament.
While the British influence is pervasive, the Bermudian culture is a mixture of Caribbean, English and American influences.
Racially, the population is primarily black, white, or Portuguese, with a small number of Chinese and East Indians. Interracial marriages are not uncommon, and Bermudians are a handsome people who enjoy good health and have a keen sense of humor.
The level of literacy is high, and the people are generally well-educated and knowledgeable in current affairs.
Bermuda’s main source of revenue is tourism. Large numbers of visitors, mostly American tourists, are attracted by the beautiful scenery and mild climate.
FOR THIS REASON, the large majority of jobs are in tourist-related fields.
The cost of living in Bermuda is high, while housing is scarce and therefore relatively expensive.
Most commercial products are imported, many from the U.S., and one can expect to pay a few dollars more for even everyday household goods. Grocery items are significantly higher than in the U.S.
While the cost of living is high, the standard of living is comparable. Bermudians are extremely industrious, many of them working at two or more jobs, and most are considered middle class economically.
As for jobs themselves, Bermudian labor is always preferred, and unless one has an extremely desirable skill it is difficult to find employment.
Also, foreign employment is always subject to approval by the government. But despite these obstacles, foreigners seem to be able to settle and find employment in the islands.
EXEMPT COMPANIES are always in need of accountants and those with good secretarial skills. There is a U.S. naval base that offers opportunities for employment, especially for skilled labor (mechanics, electricians, etc.) or for certified school teachers.
Autos, scarce in Bermuda as recently as a few decades ago, are common now; however, securing a car can be a costly undertaking for the foreigner unless he is working at a job that makes its use necessary.
Autos are not brought to the island by private owners, nor can they be rented. Mopeds and motor scooters are plentiful, both for rental and purchase, and are probably the most common means of transportation throughout Bermuda.
Non-Bermudian children can attend the naval base school or pay a tuition and attend one of the several fine elementary or secondary schools.
The Bermuda College, similar in function to an American junior college, also is available.
A popular song written by a Bermudian is entitled “Bermuda Is Another World.”
On entering Bermuda, one is given a two- to three-week visitor’s permit. Anyone who wishes to remain longer must apply to the Department of Immigration for an extension, which usually runs for six months and is not difficult to obtain.
To obtain permanent resident status, one must be retired and able to prove a yearly income of $50,000.
The physical beauty of this island paradise will undoubtedly be surpassed by an everlasting spiritual radiance as the Community of the Most Great Name in Bermuda continues to move forward, fulfilling its destined role as yet another firm pillar supporting the Supreme Institution of the Faith, the Universal House of Justice.
A group of Bermudian Bahá’ís with pioneers and traveling teachers is shown following the completion of an Assembly Development Program in September 1978.
More than 200 attend Texas ‘Pioneer Jubilee’ celebration[edit]
More than 200 Bahá’ís and some seekers attended a “Pioneer Jubilee” celebration May 3 that was planned and sponsored by the Spiritual Assembly of Carrollton, Texas, as a farewell party for a group of believers who were planning to pioneer.
The guest speaker was Douglas Allen, a staff member in the International Goals Committee office at the Bahá’í National Center.
MR. ALLEN, a former pioneer to Rhodesia (Zimbabwe) and Swaziland, described the steps necessary to prepare for pioneering and told something of the pioneering experience itself.
The program included the introduction of each member of a group of eight prospective pioneers to South Africa, Nigeria, Puerto Rico, Ecuador and Costa Rica. Slides of each of the countries were shown.
The prospective pioneers remained on stage to participate in “Pioneer Squares,” a question-and-answer session based on the format of a TV game show.
All former pioneers in the audience were presented with flowers by Howard and Joanne Menking who are Knights of Bahá’u’lláh to the Cape Verde Islands.
Thirty-eight members of 18 Spiritual Assemblies in the Dallas area attended a discussion the following day on how Assemblies can help prospective pioneers.
Mr. Allen participated in that discussion and also conducted a fireside organized by the Bahá’í Club at Southern Methodist University.
Such activities as these at the local level, said Mr. Allen, can provide a powerful and effective tool for winning the goals of the Seven Year Plan.
Doug Allen (left), a member of the International Goals Committee staff, chats with Dodie and Bobby Freeman of Dallas during the ‘Pioneer Jubilee’ May 3 in Carrollton, Texas.
Radio training course slated in Puerto Rico[edit]
The National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of Puerto Rico is sponsoring a four-week, 140-hour course August 4-29 designed to train a group of Bahá’ís in the fundamentals of radio broadcasting, programming, production, management and government licensing, along with a special emphasis on Bahá’í radio.
The course will be taught by Dean K. Stephens, a certified senior broadcast engineer with more than 21 years of experience in radio broadcasting and engineering.
Mr. Stephens is technical adviser to the Universal House of Justice Audio-Visual Department and the designer of Radio Bahá’í facilities in Ecuador.
Graduates of the course will receive a certificate detailing all the various elements covered. In addition, U.S. citizens will be primed to pass the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) operator’s license examinations, which are given weekly in Puerto Rico.
The cost of the course is $300, with a $50 deposit required by July 9.
For further information, please write to the International Goals Committee, 112 Linden Avenue, Wilmette, IL 60091, or phone 312-256-4400.
[Page 12]
HOUSE OF WORSHIP
‘Family of Man’ series explores contemporary living problems[edit]
“Wait ’Til Your Father Gets Home!” was the title of one of the workshops presented during a program entitled “The Mother,” one of four held in May and sponsored by the Bahá’í House of Worship Activities Committee as part of its service-oriented “Family of Man” series.
The other programs in the series were “The Father,” “The Child,” and “The Community.”
THE “FAMILY of Man” series was designed to deal with issues facing modern families. It addressed difficult situations that often confront the father, the mother, the child and the community, and explored ways of responding to these situations in light of Bahá’í principles.
The situations addressed included balancing outside commitments with home responsibilities (“Is daddy gone again?”); the working mother (“Super-mom”); sibling rivalry (“You always liked him better!”); and family recreation (“There’s nothing to do around here”).
Bahá’ís invited as keynote speakers included Jack Lee of Whitefish Bay, Wisconsin (“The Father”), Dr. Ann Schoonmaker of Eliot, Maine (“The Mother”), Dr. Khalil A. Khavari of Bayside, Wisconsin (“The Child”) and Dr. John Bustard of Urbana, Illinois (“The Community”).
To publicize the programs, more than 600 letters were sent to local community organizations and prominent citizens, posters were put up in store windows, flyers were distributed to visitors at the House of Worship, and specially designed invitations were sent by Bahá’ís in the Chicago area to friends and acquaintances. Quarter-page ads appeared in many papers in the northern Chicago area.
IN RESPONSE to one of the letters, the village manager of Glencoe, Illinois, wrote to the House of Worship: “I want to commend you and the Bahá’ís for sponsoring these ‘family’ programs. I have circulated your letter and leaflet among Village staff members in the hope that they may be able to attend one or more of these sessions.”
The Bahá’í House of Worship Activities Committee would like to make sample “Family of Man” materials available to local Bahá’í communities who have a desire to sponsor similar programs in their area.
For a packet of these materials, please write to “Family of Man Materials,” Bahá’í House of Worship Activities Office, 112 Linden Avenue, Wilmette, IL 60091.
Dr. Khalil Khavari (right of center, facing camera) leads a workshop on parent-child relationships held May 10 at the Bahá’í House of Worship in Wilmette, Illinois. The workshop was part of a series of public programs entitled ‘The Family of Man’ that dealt with issues facing modern families. The sessions were held on four Saturday afternoons in May.
Panel debate probes alcohol use, abuse[edit]
Upward of 150 people, more than half of whom were not Bahá’ís, attended a panel discussion April 12 entitled “Would There Be Advantages to an Alcohol-Free Society?” at the Bahá’í House of Worship in Wilmette, Illinois.
The discussion, sponsored by the Spiritual Assembly of Wilmette, was moderated by Dr. Magdalene M. Carney, assistant secretary of the National Spiritual Assembly.
THE PANEL consisted of three members of nearby Evanston Hospital’s Alcoholism Intervention Service, who discussed the implications of alcohol abuse as seen from the medical, social and youth viewpoints, and Mrs. Amy Seidel Marks, a Bahá’í from Wilmette, who spoke about alcohol’s effect on the human soul.
Mrs. Marks compared alcohol consumption to such barbaric practices as human sacrifice, slavery, and the killing of female babies—all of which were socially acceptable at the time they were practiced.
She quoted Dr. David Smith, an expert on fetal alcoholism, who has said that if alcohol were introduced into society today, the Food and Drug Administration would ban it.
A brief question-and-answer session followed the formal discussion, during which suggestions were offered for helping someone who is an alcoholic.
Farsi, Arabic programs[edit]
Toward the end of 1979 the Bahá’í House of Worship Activities Committee established a special committee to develop and conduct devotional programs in the native languages of Bahá’u’lláh.
These programs are now being held at the House of Worship once every Bahá’í month on the Sunday following the Nineteen Day Feast.
The programs, which run from 8:30 to 9:30 a.m., are presented in Farsi and Arabic.
Bahá’í House of Worship Wilmette, Illinois
Summer Hours: May 15 to October 14
- Auditorium
- 6:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. (Open for Worship)
- 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. (Open to Visitors)
- Visitors Center in Foundation Hall
- 10 a.m. to 10 p.m.
- Book Shop
- 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Sunday Activities
- Devotional Program—3 p.m.
- Public Meeting—3:45 p.m.
Information on transportation, food and lodging is available from the Bahá’í House of Worship Activities Office, 112 Linden Avenue, Wilmette, IL 60091.
He has no doubt of spiritual power emanating from the ‘silent teacher’[edit]
To a man who has the auditorium at the Bahá’í House of Worship in Wilmette, Illinois, all to himself for several hours each day, there is no doubt about the powerful spiritual influence exerted by the “silent teacher.”
Friends and co-workers at the Bahá’í National Center say that Ira Burgett brings so much love to his work that the results of that love are readily apparent.
Mr. Burgett’s janitorial responsibilities include the House of Worship’s auditorium as well as offices downstairs in Foundation Hall.
IN THE AUDITORIUM, he keeps the floors looking like glass and the brass railings shining brightly.
Mr. Burgett begins his working day in Foundation Hall after the House of Worship has been closed to the public.
Later, when he moves upstairs to the auditorium, he begins by offering prayers from a favorite chair near the rear of the large sanctuary.
“I don’t bother to turn the lights on then,” he says. “I rather enjoy the atmosphere that is created in the darkened auditorium.”
Mr. Burgett, who became a Bahá’í last year, began working at the National Center eight years ago. Before that, he spent 10 years working as a hospital orderly and 17 years mining coal in West Virginia.
It was Mr. Burgett’s son who suggested, in 1972, that he join him in Wilmette.
“EVERYBODY has his own thing to do,” says Mr. Burgett, “and I think I’ve found mine right here.
“There is a certain power to this place. So many prayers are offered here.
“If you’re ever feeling low or depressed, you have only to sit down here for a few moments and say some prayers. Believe me, something will happen!”
As one who is alone in the House of Worship on a daily basis, Mr. Burgett has had a chance to become more aware than most other people of the building’s extraordinary power and attraction.
Ira Burgett, a man who loves his work, keeps the floors in the auditorium of the Bahá’í House of Worship in Wilmette, Illinois, sparkling like glass.
House of Worship sees 41 couples united in marriage[edit]
Among the many activities held at the Bahá’í House of Worship during the year are weddings.
In 1979 a total of 41 weddings took place, uniting 26 Bahá’í and 15 non-Bahá’í couples.
All those who are married at the House of Worship must have a Bahá’í ceremony. Twenty Local Spiritual Assemblies officiated at these ceremonies.
Anyone who is interested in information on marriage at the House of Worship may write to Marriage Information, Bahá’í House of Worship Activities Office, 112 Linden Avenue, Wilmette, IL 60091.
Senator, mom visit House of Worship[edit]
Where does a U.S. Senator take his mother on Mother’s Day?
|
Coming! Paper edition of Memories of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá. |
In the case of Sen. Charles Percy of Illinois, as well as many other residents of the northern Chicago suburbs, the answer is for a walk in the gardens at the Bahá’í House of Worship in Wilmette.
Sen. Percy is a native of the northern Chicago area. His mother lives only three blocks from the House of Worship.
[Page 13]
FEATURES
Ex-child star finds Faith, peace of mind[edit]
If you’ve ever seen television reruns of the “Our Gang” comedies from the early 1920’s, you’ll probably remember a young black girl named Farina whose pigtails stood straight up whenever she became frightened.
The director accomplished that bit of early movie magic by means of “invisible” wires and pulleys, according to Mrs. Lucille Brown, a former child movie actress who played the part of Farina for about five years.
TODAY, MRS. BROWN is a Bahá’í who lives in Houston, Texas. She embraced the Faith five years ago after reading Bahá’í books and attending firesides in Buffalo, New York, where she served on the Local Spiritual Assembly before moving to Texas.
Before becoming a Bahá’í she had been a member of several Protestant churches, and at one time had even studied to become a Roman Catholic.
“But there always seemed to be something missing,” Mrs. Brown says of her previous religious experiences.
“I can walk into a room where there is a group of people who are not Bahá’ís,” she says, “and they are pleasant, considerate and smiling.
“But when I leave that room and enter another where there are only Bahá’ís, it hits me at the door! That loving feeling; that’s what I’ve found in the Bahá’í Faith.”
The former child star recalls that there was an absence of racial prejudice among the children in the “Our Gang” cast.
“WE NEVER looked at each other’s color,” she says. “We were just having a good time.”
Two incidents, she says, stand out in her memory of those early movie days.
Once, she recalls, she and the gang were let loose in a “haunted house” with sheets floating everywhere. She laughed and laughed on that set.
On another occasion, Producer Hal Roach Sr. let the kids go wild in a department store while the cameras rolled. “Mr. Roach just paid for all the damage we did,” says Mrs. Brown.
The producer had discovered young Lucille in a Marysville, California, orphanage. Her show business career had started shortly before that with her mother, a hula dancer who used the name “Princess Kalimah.”
Before she was six, Lucille and her mother were part of a carnival in which they both performed.
“She did her Hawaiian thing,” says Mrs. Brown, “while I did a buck ’n wing with a minstrel show. I nearly danced myself to death; wore out five pairs of shoes in only a little time.”
LUCILLE WAS placed in the orphanage after her mother was involved in a serious accident and state officials could not find any of her relatives.
The youngster danced every night for the other children at the orphanage. It was during one of those performances that she was seen by the producer, Hal Roach.
“The next thing I knew,” she recalls, “a matron at the orphanage was driving me into Hollywood all the time, where I’d be turned loose with the other kids in the gang. We’d sort of do our own thing while someone was filming us. Then they’d cut and splice what we did until they had something they liked.”
It was in Hollywood that Lucille was nicknamed “Babe.” She was the second child to play Farina; the first had been a boy.
“They didn’t get rid of the first Farina,” she says. “They just kind of worked me in. While we were both in the show, I was called ‘Baby Lucille.’ That’s where I got the name ‘Babe.’ I just dropped the ‘y’ as I grew up.”
Babe was about 10 years old when her mother and stepfather claimed her from the orphanage.
THEY WENT ON the road together, playing tent shows, medicine shows and carnivals. Babe and her stepfather did the soft-shoe, the cakewalk and a waltz clog. Babe also learned to tap dance and sing.
When she later went to live with her grandmother in Des Moines, Iowa, show business was not neglected. She began high school while also dancing and singing in shows around town.
After school, she joined a circus, learned how to ride elephants, and trained to become a trapeze artist. She also worked in “girlie” shows as a dancer, blues singer and contortionist.
Mrs. Brown appeared with singers such as B.B. King and Bobby Blue Bland. During World War II she performed at USO camps in the Pacific. At Guam and Bougainville, she had to parachute to her performances because her plane was under enemy fire.
In more recent years Mrs. Brown has hosted radio shows in Memphis, Tennessee, and Buffalo, New York.
She has been a VISTA volunteer, has attended schools in Ghana and Nigeria, has worked in communications for a city redevelopment project, and has been a voting booth inspector.
FOUR YEARS AGO Mrs. Brown and her daughter, Gloria, were graduated together from Buffalo State College. Mrs. Brown then went on to earn a master’s degree in communications.
Her life has not been without ordeals. Neither she nor her mother received any of the money she earned as a child actress. All of it went to the orphanage, where Mrs. Brown remembers having to sleep in a room alone, away from the other children.
As a young performer doing one-nighters, she and other members of the troupe sometimes went onstage hungry because their manager had disappeared with the ticket money. Her first marriage, at age 15, ended unhappily.
Mrs. Brown lost nearly all of her show business memorabilia in 1949 when she and other cast members of the New York-based “Sun Tan Revue” were involved in a bus accident.
The charter bus left a highway and plunged into a river in Mississippi. Mrs. Brown was pinned beneath a seat, but managed to free herself.
Another time, she was injured in a train wreck while on the road with a show.
RECENT YEARS have brought more health-related problems. She developed heart trouble, and was hospitalized at one time for diabetes.
Since becoming a Bahá’í, says Mrs. Brown, a prayer book is her constant companion.
“I don’t go anywhere without it,” she says.
Mrs. Brown says she prays on buses, in airplanes, in restaurants, and in busy downtown Houston. She credits the power of Bahá’í prayers with keeping her from becoming a victim of her personal tests and trials.
“My religion,” she says, “has given me peace of mind.”
Her career as a child movie actress now has little meaning for this show business veteran.
“That’s not the big thing in my life,” she says. “What is important to me is that I am a Bahá’í and how I feel about the Bahá’í Faith.”
MRS. LUCILLE BROWN
Lucille Brown was about five years old when she began playing the part of Farina in the silent ‘Our Gang’ comedies of the early 1920s. This photo, one of only five that Mrs. Brown has of herself during her movie days, was taken by matrons at the California orphanage where she lived while performing as a child movie star.
Galinkins profiled in magazine article[edit]
George and Carolyn Galinkin, Bahá’ís from Bozeman, Montana, are mentioned with several other couples in the April 22 issue of Family Circle magazine in an article entitled “Someone for Everyone,” about “families that open their hearts and their homes to children with special needs.”
The Galinkins, who have one daughter of their own, have adopted six children. Three are Mexican-American, one is a Native American, and another is of black and Mexican-American parentage.
Although the article does not mention the Faith, the writer speaks of the Galinkins’ belief that “their children are learning valuable lessons from being part of a large, diverse family.”
House of Worship facelift sees nine sides re-roofed[edit]
All of the Bahá’í House of Worship’s nine sides were recently re-roofed under a continuing program of preventive building maintenance.
The job began with the roofing of one three-level section of the Temple. This was completed in the spring of 1979. Four additional sections were completed by a professional roofing firm in April of this year, in time for the Bahá’í National Convention.
The remaining sections of roofing were completed by early June.
THE DECISION regarding which sections of the roof would be replaced first was based on the condition of each, according to Mark Eaton, assistant to the secretary for National Center services.
The re-roofing project, he explained, was completed in phases to keep within budgetary limits.
The widest roof area at the House of Worship is found on the lower, or gallery, level where the roofers were able to set up their heating kettle for the tar and for the temporary storage of roofing supplies.
Buckets of hot tar were hoisted on ropes from the gallery level to roofers on the higher clerestory roof.
At the clerestory level, some 109 feet above ground level, the view is magnificent but the roof is quite narrow, requiring the roofers to work in close quarters and with extra caution.
The highest roof sections are located just above the windows of the clerestory. They are narrow, metal-covered areas that must be re-soldered periodically.
THESE THREE roof levels are best seen in aerial photos of the House of Worship.
The roofing work has been scheduled at times other than during the warmer summer months to guard against accidental spills of hot tar on the cast-concrete ornamentation of the Temple, according to Mr. Eaton.
“Tar is more difficult to remove in hot weather,” he explains. “In colder weather it solidifies quickly and can be more easily removed in the event of an accident.”
[Page 14]
CONFERENCES
New facilities, superb speakers key 21st Green Lake gathering[edit]
Nineteen years constitute a “vahid,” or “unity,” a time to begin anew.
So as the Green Lake Conference Planning Committee prepares for this 20th year, marking the 21st annual conference at the lovely American Baptist Assembly facility in Green Lake, Wisconsin, there’ll be some changes made.
For one thing, the facilities themselves are being remodeled prior to the 1980 conference, scheduled for September 12-14.
ALREADY SET to appear at Green Lake are Continental Counsellor Angus Cowan; Glenford E. Mitchell, secretary of the National Spiritual Assembly; Auxiliary Board member Stephen Birkland; and Stephen Jackson, assistant to the National Treasurer.
Other speakers also are expected to be on hand to address the central theme, “Our Brightest Visions ... Our Highest Hopes.”
In response to the call of the Seven Year Plan for the nurturing of a deeper understanding of Bahá’í family life, the encouragement of Bahá’í youth, and the education of Bahá’í children, much of this year’s conference is being dedicated to the needs of the family.
A series of workshops and brainstorming sessions dealing with family finances, personal transformation, career planning, understanding what goes on at the Bahá’í National Center, nurturing children, keeping marriages together, prayer and meditation, and being a single adult Bahá’í is planned for Saturday afternoon.
Any two of these workshops can be chosen, or time can be spent relaxing, exploring the conference site, or visiting with friends.
A youth “coffee house” will be open during conference hours. There will be a minimum of structured programs and a maximum of singing, instrumental “jam sessions,” getting acquainted, and exchanging ideas.
CHILDREN’S CLASS facilities are exceptional. Last year Judge Dorothy Nelson, treasurer of the National Assembly, praised them as “the finest children’s classes I have ever seen at any conference anywhere.”
If funds are available, a number of teachers from Bahá’í schools will attend the 1980 conference to train for administering similar programs elsewhere.
There will be a complete cooperative nursery for children up to age 3. Last year there were 180 children from 3 to 11 years, which resulted in an overflow situation.
To avoid such difficulties and to guarantee each child a place in the program, it is now absolutely required that children in that age group be pre-registered with Bud and Victoria Polk (as well as with the Green Lake ABA).
To pre-register children ages 3 to 11, simply fill out the form accompanying this article and return it by August 30 to the Polks.
Children who are not pre-registered will not be eligible to attend classes. Each family will be responsible for a two-hour commitment to help in children’s classes or in the nursery.
ADDITIONAL classrooms and teachers will be included in this year’s program. People who have special skills are being recruited to help staff them.
If you are a teacher, aide, naturalist, outdoor educator, recreation leader, dancer, musician, puppeteer, clown, juggler, poet, artist, or if you do mime or have other talents you’d like to share with children, please write to the Polks, or phone them between 6 and 9 p.m. (CDT) at 312-733-0192.
Children must have name tags before entering classes or the nursery. Those with nursery-age children should also bring whatever is necessary to care for them: toys, bottles, diapers, blankets, or pillows. Be sure to label everything.
Write out any special instructions concerning sensitivity to food, allergies, or medication. Bring porta-cribs if possible. For parents with babes in arms, a room with piped-in audio will be located near the main conference room.
There are, of course, many other activities planned for the weekend, including an outstanding line-up of Bahá’í musicians and entertainers.
The book store at Green Lake always features a large selection of Bahá’í literature and audiovisual materials including the newest releases.
AS IN PREVIOUS years, attendance at Green Lake is likely to approach the maximum number that can be accommodated, 1,400 to 1,500. Delay in registering could lead to disappointment.
Facilities fees are $3.50 for children (ages 3 to 11) and $6 for adults. Fees are not included in room rates.
Everyone coming on the grounds must register both with the Green Lake ABA and with Bahá’í registration and pay the facilities fee, whether they plan to attend the sessions or not. (If you can’t afford the facilities fee, please contact a member of the Green Lake Bahá’í Conference Planning Committee.)
The conference site, in south-central Wisconsin about three miles west of the city of Green Lake on state Highway 23, is a secluded facility of some 1,000 acres of rolling hills and woods, all accessible only through a private gate.
Campsites in the woods are available for $10 a site. Accommodation rates are separate from meal costs, and you may buy only those meals you wish. However, meal commitments must be made upon registration.
Room costs are $11 to $25 per person per night. There are other rooms, with private bath, for $9 (four per room) to $22 (single) per person per night.
Rooms with semi-private baths are $11 (three per room) to $22 (single) per person per night. Rooms with a central bath are $9 (four per room) to $18 (single) per person per night.
Master Charge and Visa-BankAmericards are accepted for housing.
Those attending the conference will have access to the grounds, lake, golf course, tennis courts, marked nature trails, and hiking trails. There are bicycles for rent, and an indoor swimming pool.
Children enjoy singing during one of the sessions of a Spring Institute held March 26-30 at Potosi, Missouri.
Hand of Cause Khadem charms Missouri friends[edit]
The Hand of the Cause of God Zikrullah Khadem delighted the more than 200 people who participated March 28-30 in a Bahá’í weekend institute at Trout Lodge, a lovely conference facility near Potosi, Missouri, with charming stories of the beloved Guardian, Shoghi Effendi, and the precious hours spent with him in the Holy Land.
“Heralds of His Name” was the theme of the conference at which Auxiliary Board member Ronna Santoscoy spoke on “The Seven Year Plan—Unity, Radiance, Steadfastness and Good Reputation,” and then conducted a workshop in which these qualities were discussed in small groups.
“TEACHING—the Greatest Gift” was the subject of a presentation by Auxiliary Board member Darrell Borland.
Others on the program were Dr. Ebrahim Amanat who spoke on “Love,” and Douglas Ruhe who discussed “The Bahá’í Family—Ideal and Reality.”
The adult program was supplemented by an excellent children’s program for about 50 children with classes and activities for five age groups.
A varied program for youth ages 15-18 included presentations by Mr. Khadem and the Auxiliary Board members.
Music and devotions featured songs by “The Sounds of Light” and “Daybreak,” musical groups from the St. Louis area, and Mrs. Beverly Ruhe of Evanston, Illinois.
The institute, sponsored by the Spiritual Assembly of Rock Hill, Missouri, drew Bahá’ís and seekers from 46 localities in five states.
Many of the participants expressed the hope that gatherings such as this would become an annual event for Missouri and the surrounding states.
Mr. Khadem set as key speaker at Massanetta[edit]
The Hand of the Cause of God Zikrullah Khadem will be the featured speaker at the second Massanetta Springs Bahá’í Conference, to be held over the Labor Day weekend, August 29-31, near Harrisonburg, Virginia, in the lovely Shenandoah Valley.
Other speakers at the conference, whose theme is “The Challenging Requirements of the Present Hour,” will include Auxiliary Board members Javidukht Khadem and Robert Harris and Dr. Wilma Brady, chairman of the Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of New York City.
There will be special sessions for Persian believers and youth.
Nearly 700 Bahá’ís attended the first Massanetta Springs conference last year.
The facilities fee of $42 includes meals and housing. For more information, contact the Spiritual Assembly of Staunton, P.O. Box 421, Staunton, VA 24401.
[Page 15]
NATIONAL CENTER
Community Administration serves Bahá’í standards[edit]
Bahá’ís who work in the Secretariat, the executive offices of the National Spiritual Assembly, are in a good position to witness the growing maturity of the American Bahá’í community.
From his vantage point in the Department of Community Administration, Dr. Geoffry Marks has seen “quite a bit of growth” in Assemblies during his three years at the National Center in Wilmette, Illinois.
“I THINK there has been a real maturation on the part of many Local Assemblies,” he says. “We have several hundred Assemblies that I believe are quite mature and strong. If the National Assembly were somehow unable to communicate with the community, about 500 or more Local Assemblies would simply keep on functioning as before.”
The Department of Community Administration is one of several departments in the Secretariat including Personnel, National Center Services, and Public Affairs.
The National Spiritual Assembly has defined two main areas of responsibility for the Office of Community Administration: (1) dealing with violations of Bahá’í law and standards of conduct that are referred to the National Assembly—problems that impede the unity of the community—and (2) the education, guidance and strengthening of Local Spiritual Assemblies.
The department also oversees the coordination of arrangements for pilgrimages.
Everything carried out by the nine-member department is done on behalf of the National Spiritual Assembly and in accordance with its policies and guidelines.
“Over the years the National Assembly has developed a body of policy based on its experience in handling cases,” explains Dr. Marks, who heads the department.
“THESE GUIDELINES and policies have been explained to the staff, and clear lines of responsibility have been given so that we know exactly what our duties are and where our boundaries lie.
“Our work is carefully reviewed,” he adds. “We consult frequently with the secretary of the National Assembly and receive instructions from him or from the assistant secretary.”
One indication of the growing maturity of Local Assemblies in the U.S. is the fact that the National Assembly is becoming more a body of review and appeal, and less a body that takes action on local matters.
Says Dr. Marks: “Gone are the days when a Local Assembly would write to us and say, ‘We have a problem. Here are the facts. We refer this to you for handling.’ The National Assembly is no longer the Local Assembly for the entire U.S.”
Local Assemblies are now expected to deal directly with matters within their jurisdiction.
“If it’s a local problem, the Assembly has to resolve it,” says Dr. Marks. “The National Assembly may give the Local Assembly advice and general guidelines, but the final responsibility rests with the Assembly.”
THE NATIONAL Assembly, he says, relies on the Local Assembly for well-conceived recommendations in cases where the Local Assembly has done all it can, and action by the National Assembly, such as the imposition of sanctions, seems appropriate.
Questions, reports and problems arrive at the Department of Community Administration at a rate of 80 to 110 letters a week.
They cover a full range of human problems, and are reported by Local Assemblies, individuals, District Teaching Committees, other National Assemblies, and the Continental Board of Counsellors.
Another indicator of the maturity of Local Assemblies can be seen in the nature of most problems now referred to the National Center.
“We rarely receive questions on subjects that are dealt with in Guidelines for Local Spiritual Assemblies,” says Dr. Marks.
“Some questions are routine, and the responses are obvious. Most of them, however, are much more involved and require careful study, consultation, and reference to the National Assembly or its officers.”
The objectives in dealing with problems in the Bahá’í community, according to Dr. Marks, are two-fold.
THE FIRST, he says, is to provide the proper guidance based on Bahá’í principles. The second is to educate the individual or Assembly in a spiritual as well as a practical way, “so that people’s sights are uplifted, their vision is broadened, and they are better able to transcend the immediate problem in which they are involved.”
Mrs. Eleanore Conkling is responsible for keeping track of all correspondence assigned to the department by the National Spiritual Assembly. She acknowledges it, distributes it to the appropriate staff members, and makes a record of the outgoing correspondence.
Three other staff members are assigned to specific geographical areas. They are Miss Sandy Egerer, Mrs. Anna Lee Strasburg, and Miss Janet Murphy.
Miss Ouida Coley does the typing for the office, which amounts to as many as 200 items a week.
“Every day we appreciate her speed and accuracy,” says Dr. Marks.
HOW DO MEMBERS of the department feel about their work in dealing each day with the problems of Bahá’ís?
“One not only sees the improper things Bahá’ís may be doing,” says Mrs. Strasburg, “one also sees the results of mature Local Assemblies and of struggling Assemblies that are plugged into the spiritual Source.”
“It’s especially rewarding,” adds Miss Egerer, “when you see someone who is really being helped.”
The Guardian, says Dr. Marks, wrote that the World Order of Bahá’u’lláh would develop in harmony with the application of Bahá’í law.
“We are in the process of applying Bahá’í laws and principles to everyday problems,” he adds, “and this means we are directly involved in the spiritual development of the community.”
In responding to the need to strengthen Local Assemblies through education and guidance, the Department of Community Administration pays special attention to new Assemblies because of their eagerness to learn.
ONE STAFF member who works full-time on strengthening Assemblies is Mrs. Carol Allen, who describes her efforts as “preventive rather than remedial.”
Strengthening Assemblies, she says, is essentially a deepening process, and that means it involves teaching.
Mrs. Allen answers questions from Assemblies about the Seven Year Plan and travels to talk with them about their role in the Plan.
Help is also offered to Assemblies that are going through the incorporation process.
Another important function of the department is arranging for representatives of the National Assembly to visit Local Assemblies for a variety of reasons.
It takes most of Mrs. Mary Kurrus’ time to read copies of Local Assembly minutes sent to the National Assembly.
MRS. KURRUS, herself the secretary of a Local Assembly, reads minutes from all Assemblies except those in Cook County, Illinois, and others that are read by members of the National Assembly or other members of the Department of Community Administration.
Mrs. Kurrus also sees that the National Assembly’s guidelines concerning the formation and recognition of all Local Assemblies are carried out.
She maintains records of Assembly formations, losses, and restorations.
The Department of Community Administration came into being following the stroke that disabled Miss Charlotte Linfoot, former assistant secretary of the National Spiritual Assembly, in November 1975.
DR. GEOFFRY W. MARKS
A staff meeting at the Department of Community Administration helps set the direction for the day’s activities.
Staff members Anna Lee Strasburg (left) and Sandy Egerer put their heads together to work on a community problem.
Carol Allen spends much of her time helping to strengthen Local Spiritual Assemblies.
“The loss of Miss Linfoot was a tremendous blow to the National Assembly and the Secretariat,” says Dr. Marks.
“Miss Linfoot did a phenomenal amount of work that no one has been able to equal. As a result of her absence, the volume of unanswered correspondence grew so much that by the summer of 1977, we had some 1,400 pieces. It was a nightmare for the National Assembly, our department, and the community as a whole.
“IT TOOK a long time to chip away at that backlog. Now, however, we are essentially caught up and can respond to about 75 per cent of the mail within three weeks.”
With regard to pilgrimage, the National Assembly is the liaison between the Universal House of Justice and American believers who plan to make a pilgrimage to the Holy Land.
Mrs. Patricia Spittal is the staff member responsible for seeing that the guidelines established by
[Page 16]
PUBLICATIONS
Children, youth well served by Trust’s spring harvest[edit]
“The largest number of new materials for children and youth ever introduced by the Bahá’í Publishing Trust at one time” is how Dr. Betty Fisher, general editor at the Publishing Trust, describes its recent spring releases.
The first of these, My Baby Book, makes a welcome gift for new parents and is an excellent means for reinforcing a young child’s Bahá’í identity.
My Baby Book, handsomely illustrated in rainbow watercolors and interspersed with quotations from the Bahá’í Writings, includes pages for such traditional information as details of birth, family tree, first pictures, medical records, and advances in physical, social and mental development.
In addition, it provides a page for a Bahá’í birth certificate, and places in which to record milestones in the child’s spiritual education and growth, including first community, first Feast, first Holy Day observance, and first prayer memorized.
The text for My Baby Book is by Deborah Christensen, with illustrations by David Cunningham. It is available in an 8 1/2 x 11-inch cloth-bound format (Catalog No. 7-52-53, $14.50)
Mrs. Christensen also provided the text for the four new Sunflower Books for Young Children, designed especially to help young Bahá’í children, especially 3- to 7-year-olds, learn something about being a Bahá’í in a way suitable for their age.
Book 1, My Bahá’í Book, helps the child understand his place in the worldwide Bahá’í community, beginning with himself and his family and moving outward to his local and international communities.
Color photos of Bahá’ís around the world can be cut out, matched to the proper pages, and glued in place. The child is invited to color or paint certain pages and to draw pictures on others.
The book also focuses on God, the Central Figures of the Faith, and their message of love and unity.
Book 2, My Favorite Prayers and Passages, provides space for lettering in prayers and passages from the Writings and the date on which each was memorized. The border around each prayer or passage may be colored.
Book 3, God and Me, emphasizes worship through deeds and divine attributes, the effects of which can be seen in the physical world.
Book 4, Our Bahá’í Holy Places, introduces the child to Bahá’í Holy Places and Houses of Worship around the world and involves him in such activities as coloring, as well as matching and pasting photos of these Shrines.
The book, like the others in this series (four more of which are to be released later this year), helps parents and others working with children to build a sense of Bahá’í identity in the child.
A “message to parents” inserted in each book contains general comments on the purposes of the Sunflower Books and suggestions about their use.
The books may be ordered separately ($2.75 each NET) or as a set for $10 (Catalog No. 7-53-05)
The Birth of the Bahá’í Faith (Catalog No. 7-52-55, $1.25 NET), a 23-page illustrated history in magazine format written by Debbie D. Wittman, brings vividly to life the Heroic Age of the Faith, 1844-1921.
The attractive line drawings, based on historic photographs, and the clear straightforward text combine to produce an excellent deepening and teaching tool for youth and new Bahá’ís.
Another new release, Clementine and the Cage, designed for children from 7 to 9 years of age, tells the story of a bird who goes beyond the squabbling and limited vision of other birds.
The book is priced at $7.95 (Catalog No. 7-52-74)
Two of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s prayers for children, “O God, guide me” and “O God! Educate these children” are reproduced on a new, attractively illustrated Children’s Prayers Card.
The card, measuring 3 3/4x5 7/8 inches, makes an excellent teaching aid or gift for children, friends or family. It sells for 15 cents NET, or 10 for $1.05 NET (Catalog No. 7-03-25)
Come and Sing, a new children’s record album for preschoolers and older, includes 15 prayers and poems set to music. They cover reverence, obedience, courtesy, truthfulness, patience, love, and the equality of mankind.
The album provides yet another way of introducing children to Bahá’í concepts and of reinforcing a sense of Bahá’í identity.
Come and Sing is priced at $7.50 (Catalog No. 6-35-21)
Happy Ayyám-i-Ha!, honored with an Angel Award as the best religious children’s album of 1979, features the Hand of the Cause of God William Sears, playing the part of a loving “grandfather” surrounded by children who ask questions and sing songs for him during an Ayyám-i-Há party.
The delightful children, the soul-stirring music, and the lovely arrangements can be enjoyed throughout the year by children and adults alike.
Happy Ayyám-i-Há! (Catalog No. 6-35-19) is priced at $10.
The wealth of new materials being released by the Publishing Trust represents “a first step in systematically publishing materials for Bahá’í children and youth,” says Dr. Fisher.
To order any of these materials, see your Bahá’í community librarian or order directly from the Bahá’í Publishing Trust, 415 Linden Avenue, Wilmette, IL 60091. Please include 75 cents to cover postage and handling on orders under $5.
Publishing Trust to host seminar on writing, drawing for children[edit]
The Bahá’í Publishing Trust is planning to hold a seminar September 20-22 for writers and illustrators of children’s books and other materials.
Those interested in attending the program should submit by August 15 a brief statement of their background and why they would like to attend the seminar.
SAMPLES of work, if they are available, should accompany the application.
The seminar will deal with a variety of topics of interest to those who are preparing materials for children and youth: the Bahá’í writings, educational theory, and their implications for Bahá’í materials; developmental stages of children and youth; writing for children and youth; dos and don’ts for authors; text and illustrations; writing without cross-cultural bias; and National Education Committee and Publishing Trust priorities for materials for children and youth.
There will be ample opportunity for questions and interaction with speakers and other participants. A limited number of openings is available.
Write to Writers’ Seminar, c/o Dr. Betty J. Fisher, general editor, Bahá’í Publishing Trust, 415 Linden Avenue, Wilmette, IL 60091.
Archives seeks Tablets[edit]
The Bahá’í Faith has been blessed with possessing its Sacred Writings in their original form.
However, this did not happen by accident, it was the result of persistent efforts by archives committees and concerned Bahá’ís to ensure their preservation in a Bahá’í archives.
As the Guardian wrote through his secretary in 1929:
“THE WORK of collecting and publishing the Tablets is one of the most important tasks that this generation has to undertake, for upon it depends our true understanding of the Cause and its principles ...
“Shoghi Effendi firmly believes that only Tablets with the Master’s signature and in the original tongue should be recognized.
“Any translations or copies of them fail from having real authority. This shows the importance of collecting the original Tablets that bear the Master’s signature.”
Because some Tablets from ‘Abdu’l-Bahá and letters from Shoghi Effendi have been lost or destroyed, often because non-Bahá’í relatives did not realize their value, many Bahá’ís over the years have given their Tablets to the National Bahá’í Archives for their protection.
However, the National Bahá’í Archives Committee is aware that a number of Tablets of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá or letters from the Guardian are still in the hands of individuals, and therefore appeals for the original or a photocopy to be sent to the National Bahá’í Archives.
|
New
Bahá’í Publishing Trust
A TRAVELER’S A Traveler’s Narrative. ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s engrossing account of the rise of the Bábí and Bahá’í Faiths—essential reading for students of the origins and history of these faiths. Translated by Edward G. Browne. |
The Archives Committee would also like to know if any of the friends are aware of the existence of Tablets in the hands of non-Bahá’í descendants of early Bahá’ís.
The Archives Committee is seeking in particular Tablets addressed to Lilliam James, Arthur P. Dodge, Arthur Agnew, Percy Woodcock or Mrs. A.M. Bryant.
Any Tablets or information about Tablets should be sent to the National Bahá’í Archives, 112 Linden Avenue, Wilmette, IL 60091.
[Page 17]
PROCLAMATION
Chester Kahn (left) and David Villaseñor look on as Franklin Kahn hangs one of his paintings in preparation for a showing of their art March 17-21 in Phoenix, Arizona.
Art show helps proclaim Faith in Phoenix, Arizona[edit]
A showing of works of art by Bahá’ís Chester and Franklin Kahn and David Villaseñor held March 17-21 at Thompson’s Art Gallery in Phoenix, Arizona, provided several unique opportunities to proclaim the Faith through the media and local firesides.
In anticipation of the showing, Matt Walker, a Bahá’í who produces the TV program “Get It On,” took a crew to videotape Chester Kahn on the Navajo Reservation in Houck, Arizona, and Franklin Kahn at his store, the Turquoise Hogan, in Flagstaff.
One exciting result of the trip was that the cameraman was so impressed by the Kahns’ explanation of the Faith that he declared his belief in Bahá’u’lláh.
Portions of the film Sands of Time were shown on the TV program to illustrate Mr. Villaseñor’s work with Indian sand painting and his explanation of how the unity of mankind is represented in the symbols of many Indian works of art.
On March 17, a local TV station filmed a 2 1/2-minute interview with Mr. Villaseñor for its evening newscast.
Mr. Villaseñor also was interviewed on three local radio stations (two in Spanish), and spoke at the MECHA (Movimiento Estudiantil Chicano Atzlán) club at Phoenix Community College and at several firesides.
Maryland Bahá’ís sponsor week-long test[edit]
Thousands of Maryland residents heard of the Faith during a week-long “Maryland Bahá’í Festival” April 12-20.
The festival also served to strengthen inter-community Bahá’í relationships and the bonds between Bahá’ís and church groups that participated in the activities, according to Allison Vaccaro, secretary of the Spiritual Assembly of Baltimore.
THE WIDE-RANGING proclamation effort featured addresses, music and dance performances, proclamations by the governor of Maryland and the mayor of Baltimore, university campus activities, and the distribution of Bahá’í literature.
Dr. Dwight W. Allen, a member of the National Spiritual Assembly, was the speaker April 13 at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore.
His address, “Education for World Consciousness,” was arranged by the university’s Bahá’í Club as part of a weekly program series sponsored by the chaplain’s office at the university.
About one-half of the audience of approximately 100 who heard Dr. Allen speak were non-Bahá’ís.
Thirty minutes of in-depth questioning followed his address. Afterward, representatives of eight Spiritual Assemblies and Bahá’í Groups attended a reception for Dr. Allen.
“Women, Hard Work and Peace” was the topic of a symposium April 13 conducted by Dr. Wilma Brady, chairman of the Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of New York City, and Patricia Barnes, a member of the National Organization for Women (NOW).
THE SYMPOSIUM was sponsored by the Johns Hopkins University Bahá’í Club.
A number of Spiritual Assemblies in the Baltimore area sponsored proclamation efforts during the festival week. One such effort was the placement of specially designed bookmarks in public libraries to announce the coming festival activities.
Bahá’í entertainers performed at a luncheon April 12 sponsored by the Spiritual Assembly of Westminster. The Spiritual Assembly of Howard County sponsored a dinner April 19.
Members of the Spiritual Assembly of Annapolis, the state capital, received a proclamation from Maryland Gov. Harry Hughes officially recognizing the festival.
Bahá’í musicians Randy Armstrong of Dover, New Hampshire, and Ken LaRoche of Peterborough, New Hampshire, who perform under the name “Do’a,” made several appearances during the festival.
Following one of their performances, in Baltimore, a reception was held in the parish hall of the First Unitarian Church, the same hall in which ‘Abdu’l-Bahá spoke on November 11, 1912.
“Do’a” also appeared in an open square in downtown Baltimore under a large banner announcing the Bahá’í festival week. A dozen believers distributed flyers and literature to a crowd estimated at around 500.
TWO MEMBERS of the Maryland Ballet Company participated in festival activities, performing at a Methodist church and at a senior citizens center.
“Immortality and Life After Death” was the title of a talk given at the Baltimore Bahá’í Center during festival week.
“As a community,” says Mrs. Vaccaro, “we learned a lot from planning and putting on a festival.”
The effort was a success, she adds, “even though we didn’t have any immediate declarations.”
The cost of the festival for the Spiritual Assembly of Baltimore, she says, was $2,000. The Assembly already is planning another statewide Bahá’í festival for 1981.
Bahá’í musicians Randy Armstrong (left) of Dover, New Hampshire, and Ken LaRoche of Peterborough, New Hampshire, who perform under the name ‘Do’a,’ appeared three times in Baltimore and once in Westminster, Maryland, during the Maryland Bahá’í Festival April 12-20. The two musicians created the song ‘Flight’ that was used as the title song for a record album now available from the Bahá’í Publishing Trust.
Members of the Teaching and Proclamation Committee that planned the week-long Maryland Bahá’í Festival in April are (front row left to right) Edward Bartlett, Amy Shaw, Oletha DeVane, Brenda Rickell, DuBois Johnson, and (back row left to right) Eric Byrd, Allison Vaccaro.
Baltimore believers (left to right) Farid Khorsandian, Jeffrey Silverman and Clarence Thomas helped staff this Bahá’í Club booth at Johns Hopkins University’s annual Spring Fair during the Maryland Bahá’í Festival April 12-20.
Howard University Bahá’ís present book fair display[edit]
The Bahá’í Club at Howard University in Washington, D.C., participated March 21 in the annual book fair for university faculty members.
The fair is designed to acquaint faculty members with publications that are available for possible use in the courses they teach.
Thirteen faculty members requested a total of 16 complimentary copies of Bahá’í books displayed at the fair.
The Bahá’í Club was assisted by the Spiritual Assembly of Washington, D.C., in underwriting the cost of the complimentary copies.
Another result of the effort was a request by the director of the university book store that a private showing of Bahá’í books be prepared for consideration as a part of the stock on sale in the store this summer.
Iowa TV station covers election[edit]
Shortly before the Riḍván elections were to be held in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, a local television/radio station, WMT, phoned to ask if they might film the Holy Day observance and election for the late evening news.
The station was advised that the election itself could not be shown, as it is a prayerful and meditative process, but that a simulated election could be filmed.
In addition to depicting the election on the news, the station aired an interview with the chairman of the Spiritual Assembly of Cedar Rapids.
The unexpected request for news coverage is believed to be a result of continuing positive contact with the local news media.
As a result, many members of the Cedar Rapids committee have found increased opportunities for teaching the Faith in that city.
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PERSIAN PAGE
[Page 19]
PERSIAN PAGE
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AUXILIARY BOARDS
Auxiliary Boards defend, spread Cause[edit]
On June 21, 1968, the Universal House of Justice announced to the Bahá’í world the establishment of the institution of the Continental Boards of Counsellors, an institution that would ensure the extension into the future of the functions of protection and propagation vested in the Hands of the Cause of God.
At that same time the Auxiliary Boards, which had been in existence since 1954 functioning under the direction of the Hands of the Cause, were placed under the direction of the Continental Boards of Counsellors.
THUS, THE Auxiliary Boards, one for the protection and one for the propagation of the Faith, are an auxiliary institution of the Continental Boards of Counsellors whose functions are to protect and propagate the Cause of God.
Members of the Auxiliary Boards are appointed by and serve under the direction of the Continental Boards of Counsellors, and act as their deputies, assistants, and advisers.
The tasks of helping to watch over the security of the Cause, protecting it from its enemies, internal and external, and ensuring the constant propagation of the Faith of Bahá’u’lláh cover, in general, the functions of the Auxiliary Board members—functions they share with Local and National Spiritual Assemblies.
Their duties include furthering the interests of and assisting in the execution of the Plans set in motion by the Universal House of Justice, lending impetus to and strengthening the teaching work, the preservation and consolidation of victories won, and the development of the distinctive character of Bahá’í life.
The Auxiliary Board members are called upon to work directly with individual believers, Groups, and Local Assemblies, encouraging, advising and stimulating them in the work of the Cause; assisting them in their development and growth; helping them to deepen in their understanding of the Teachings of Bahá’u’lláh and to act in accordance with His laws and principles; encouraging them to contribute freely to the various Funds of the Faith; urging their full support and devoted participation in plans adopted by the National Spiritual Assembly; and impressing upon them the need to be unified under all circumstances.
THE UNIVERSAL House of Justice announced in its message of October 7, 1973, to the Bahá’ís of the world that it had taken two decisions designed to reinforce and extend the services of the Auxiliary Boards to meet the growing needs of an ever-expanding Bahá’í world community.
The first raised the number of Auxiliary Board members throughout the world to 270, of whom 81 would serve in the Western Hemisphere.
Second, the Universal House of Justice decided to give to each Continental Board of Counsellors the discretion to authorize individual Auxiliary Board members to appoint assistants to help them in the discharge of their duties.
Believers who are appointed as assistants to the Auxiliary Board can serve at the same time on administrative institutions, and are appointed for a limited period, with the possibility of reappointment.
One of the main duties of the Auxiliary Boards and their assistants is to help bring into being and consolidate Local Spiritual Assemblies.
Individual believers and Local Assemblies are encouraged to contact the members of the Auxiliary Boards for assistance in the expansion and consolidation work, and for advice and help in matters concerning the protection of the Faith.
“IT IS AT this local level of Bahá’í community life,” the Universal House of Justice commented in a message of November 17, 1971, to the Continental Boards of Counsellors, “the very foundation of the administrative structure of the Faith, that we so often find lack of adequate strength and efficiency.
“It is at this same level that our beloved Guardian urged Auxiliary Board members to establish contact with Local Spiritual Assemblies, groups, isolated centres and the individual believers, and through periodic and systematic visits to localities as well as by correspondence help in promoting the interests of the Plan, assist in the efficient and prompt execution of the goals, watch over the security of the Faith, stimulate and strengthen the teaching and pioneer work, impress upon the friends the importance of individual effort, initiative and sacrifice, and encourage them to participate in Bahá’í activities and be unified under all circumstances.”
In a message to the Bahá’ís of the world dated October 7, 1973, the Universal House of Justice added:
“The aims of the Auxiliary Board members and their assistants, stated previously in relation to the services of the assistants, ‘should be to activate and encourage Local Spiritual Assemblies, to call the attention of Local Spiritual Assembly members to the importance of holding regular meetings, to encourage local communities to meet for the Nineteen Day Feasts and Holy Days, to help deepen their fellow believers’ understanding of the Teachings ...’ ”
Finally, in a message of May 25, 1975, to all National Spiritual Assemblies, the Supreme Body said this:
“We are confident that the institution of the Boards of Counsellors will lend its vital support and, through the Counsellors’ own contacts with the friends, through their Auxiliary Boards and their assistants, will nourish the roots of each local community, enrich and cultivate the soil of knowledge of the teachings and irrigate it with the living waters of love for Bahá’u’lláh. Thus will the saplings grow into mighty trees, and the trees bear their golden fruit.”
Grace Bates, a member of the Spiritual Assembly of Arlington, Massachusetts, is shown with an Ayyám-i-Há display at Shady Hill School in Cambridge, where she works as a receptionist and where her son is a student.
D.C. witnesses Hayden tribute[edit]
More than 75 Bahá’ís and guests were present April 22 at Howard University in Washington, D.C., for a memorial service honoring poet Robert E. Hayden who died February 22 in Ann Arbor, Michigan.
The entire program was recorded by the Voice of America for broadcast overseas.
Counsellor Sarah M. Pereira, a professor of Spanish and Portuguese at the University of the District of Columbia and a close friend of the Hayden family, recalled Mr. Hayden’s life and the Source of his inspiration, the Bahá’í Faith.
“BOB HAYDEN was one of the thinking men of our age,” said Dr. Pereira, “who searched for a reasonable explanation for the moral sickness of this century.”
William Meredith, consultant in poetry at the Library of Congress, a post Mr. Hayden held in 1975-76, devoted his presentation to the reading of Mr. Hayden’s poetry.
Dr. Stephen Henderson, director of the Howard University Institute of Arts and Humanities, recalled with deep personal and professional regard the work of Mr. Hayden.
The documentation section of the Institute of Arts and Humanities video-taped the program. The tapes will be placed in the Afro-American Research Center at the university’s Founders Library.
The English department, where Mr. Hayden held the position of “graduate writer-in-residence,” was represented by faculty and students.
Four students from Mr. Hayden’s advanced Contemporary Poetry class eulogized him in poetry and prose.
Dr. Leon Jones, professor in the Department of Education and faculty adviser of the Howard Bahá’í Club, chaired the program.
There were musical selections by Evander Gilmer, and a closing prayer by Mrs. Zylpha Mapp-Robinson, a pioneer to Uganda for nine years who is now a member of the Bahá’í Club at Howard University.
Community[edit]
Continued From Page 15
the Universal House of Justice concerning the scheduling of pilgrimages are carried out.
She also advises those who are traveling to areas of the world where the Faith is restricted.
The Universal House of Justice, she explains, grants permission for about 400 Bahá’ís to make a pilgrimage each year between the last week in October and the end of July.
The waiting time between one’s application for pilgrimage and the time he actually departs averages around three years. The 50 per cent cancellation rate reduces the waiting period to eight to 10 months for those who are able to go on short notice.
IN EXPLAINING the high cancellation rate of those who apply for pilgrimage, Mrs. Spittal observes that the friends often overlook practical considerations.
“Plans must be practical,” she says, “and money for the trip must be saved on a regular basis.”
With the permission of the Universal House of Justice, Mrs. Spittal also helps Bahá’ís who wish to travel to Israel for other purposes. Bahá’ís may visit the World Centre for up to three days while not on pilgrimage. However, any Bahá’í going to Israel for any purpose must first receive permission from the Universal House of Justice.
Bahá’ís who plan to work or travel in the Middle East, eastern Europe, Greece, and certain areas of the Far East are referred to special instructions from the House of Justice.
“Specific guidelines vary from country to country and week to week,” says Mrs. Spittal, “depending on the present world situation. It is imperative that Bahá’ís going to those countries know how to conduct themselves.”
THE UNIVERSAL House of Justice does not encourage believers who wish to live in the Middle East because Bahá’ís there are not allowed to teach the Faith or have any sort of community life.
There is no one type of work in the non-Bahá’í world that would prepare one for a position in the Department of Community Administration, says Dr. Marks.
In addition to such qualities as a well-trained mind, the ability to write, knowledge of the spiritual and administrative principles of the Faith, and the ability to apply them to specific questions, says Dr. Marks, there is another important ingredient.
“One must also be compassionate and understanding,” he says, “because the Bahá’í view of justice is a new concept. Compassion, mercy and education are as much a part of it as the imposition of sanctions.”
Dr. Marks believes that the Iranian crisis has had a sobering effect on the U.S. Bahá’í community and has aided its development.
“The crisis has served to center everyone’s attention on the essentials of Bahá’í belief and helped us eliminate many of the extraneous concerns that deflect us from our central purpose,” he says.
“There is more unity in the Bahá’í community today. The spirit has improved and the level of energy is up. It is very encouraging!”
The three-member Bahá’í Group of Fauquier County, Virginia, participated in Warrenton’s annual Spring Festival on May 17 with this booth from which visitors were provided with free ice water, Band-Aids and 600 ‘Love That Child’ balloons. The booth was borrowed from the Bahá’ís of Winchester and Frederick County who had used it the previous week at Winchester’s annual Apple Blossom Festival.
Louhelen perceived as Bahá’í ‘prototype’[edit]
Continued From Page 1
“It has grown to be one of the most important and one of the most valuable centers of Bahá’í learning, and should be maintained at all cost.”
David Smith, secretary of the National Education Committee, says the reconstructed school will be “a prototype” of Bahá’í education.
“We realize we have a long way to go toward realizing the Bahá’í education of the future,” he says, “but the Louhelen project marks the beginning of fulfilling the dreams and hopes of believers over the past 50 years.”
The progress of the project to date has resulted largely from the volunteer efforts of Bahá’í professionals working behind the scenes, says Stephen Jackson, assistant to the National Treasurer.
“MORE HELP is needed now,” he says, “when things are really going forward.
“The strength of this project, like any other in the Faith, lies in the participation of the friends from every economic level.”
Paramount to its success, he adds, are contributions from the believers. The ambitious target date for completion of construction work at Louhelen is August 1981.
“If the needed funds are received by this fall,” says Mr. Jackson, “construction can get under way and can be completed by the following August as planned.”
The National Spiritual Assembly has approved the sale of promissory notes to Bahá’ís to expedite raising the funds needed to support the project.
The Office of the Treasurer is in the process of selecting individuals to act as its agents in the approximately 26 states in which the sale of promissory notes will be registered in compliance with state law.
INDIVIDUAL believers in those states will be able to purchase promissory notes from the National Spiritual Assembly in denominations of $500 or more.
Maturities of 10, 15 or 20 years will be offered, according to Mr. Jackson.
“The plan,” he says, “is to have the notes registered and the special Treasurer’s representatives ready to begin their work by mid-September.” That would leave about a year in which to sell the notes.
Bahá’ís in those states where purchase of promissory notes from the National Assembly won’t be possible are free to contribute to the Louhelen project, and are encouraged to do so.
The Treasurer’s Office will be making a concurrent effort to consult with individual Bahá’ís who may be able to contribute to the Louhelen project in a major way, he adds.
Reconstruction at Louhelen will include the preservation of some existing buildings on the property as well as construction of new buildings.
THE PRESENT library will be preserved for use as an archives facility for the school; the former auditorium will become a storage building.
The Louhelen building and Eggleston home also will be preserved and restored to their original appearance. The Pullman dormitory building and four cottages will be demolished.
Among the new buildings planned is a lodge center that will contain a cafeteria, kitchen, auditorium, registration area, lounge, administrative offices, bookstore and library.
A new classroom building will feature an arts and crafts room, five classrooms, and a nursery with a sunken play area. Each classroom will have its own screened outdoor patio.
Housing will be provided for through construction of 24 suites to be built in two connected lodging clusters. The two-story structures will provide housing for up to 130 people.
The National Spiritual Assembly will be ready to sign construction contracts as soon as $1 million in contributions and/or promissory notes is secured.
This procedure, says Mr. Jackson, will safeguard the financial aspects of the Louhelen project and guarantee a healthy start.
Montevallo dentist gets Alabama award[edit]
The Spiritual Assembly of Homewood, Alabama (a suburb of Birmingham) recently presented a “Bahá’í Humanitarian Award” to Dr. Samuel Mahan, a non-Bahá’í dentist from Montevallo, Alabama.
Dr. Mahan had made two trips to southeastern Mexico to offer the indigenous people there free dental care. The inhabitants of that area of jungle and mountains are descendants of the Mayan Indians.
THE SPIRITUAL Assembly of Homewood, after reading newspaper accounts of Dr. Mahan’s trips, decided that his work offered a striking example of work in the spirit of service and the attainment of a world-embracing vision.
To properly recognize that service, the Assembly presented Dr. Mahan with a plaque that included a brief quotation from the Writings and a nine-pointed star.
“It took several months to obtain the plaque,” said Dr. Curtis Russell, chairman of the Homewood Assembly, “because of difficulty in finding an engraver who could make a nine-pointed star.”
The presentation to Dr. Mahan was reported in two newspapers in Shelby County, Alabama, one of which carried a photo on its front page.
Dr. Mahan, who recalled having visited the House of Worship in Wilmette as a teen-ager in the early 1950s, expressed his gratitude for the award and invited the Bahá’ís to a future gathering at which he could show slides of his trips to Mexico and get to know the believers better.
Dr. Samuel Mahan (center) of Montevallo, Alabama, receives a ‘Bahá’í Humanitarian Award’ on behalf of the Spiritual Assembly of Homewood, Alabama, from Dr. Curtis Russell, chairman of the Assembly, and Mrs. Connie Ingham, vice-chairman of the Assembly. Dr. Mahan, who is not a Bahá’í, was recognized for his service to the Mayan Indians of southeastern Mexico. He made two trips to that area to offer free dental care to the people there.
Tennessee sets 4-day conference for Labor Day[edit]
The Tennessee Bahá’í Institute Committee is sponsoring a four-day Labor Day weekend conference August 29-September 1 at the Dubose Conference Center in Monteagle, Tennessee.
The conference theme is “What Lies Ahead at This Crucial Hour?”
Speakers will include Counsellor Iraj Ayman from Western Asia, and Glenford Mitchell, secretary of the National Spiritual Assembly.
Activities will include a public meeting, talent show, films, entertainment, children’s classes with a field trip, workshops, games, and a special meeting for Persian believers. A nursery will also be provided.
You can participate in this historic conference for as little as $35 (which includes meals and room).
Accommodations range from semi-private “motel style” rooms to dormitories and cabins.
The Dubose Conference Center is conveniently located atop a mountain between Nashville and Chattanooga.
For more information, please contact the committee at Route 1 Sussex Drive, Box 835, Morristown, TN 37814 (615-586-9247).
Teaching[edit]
Continued From Page 1
of the Inter-Community Bahá’í School (now the William Sears School) in Pasadena, California.
MRS. LOPEZ has served at the Bahá’í National Center in Wilmette for the last six years as assistant to the secretary of the National Spiritual Assembly.
She was elected secretary of the Persian Affairs Committee upon its formation last October, and also is secretary of the Spiritual Assembly of Winnetka.
Mrs. Lopez, a former Californian, served on two District Teaching Committees in that state.
Dr. Nazerian, who came to the U.S. from Iran in 1959, has served on a District Teaching Committee and on the Louhelen Bahá’í School Council.
Prior to coming to this country, Dr. Nazerian, a veterinarian, had pioneered to Italy and Sweden.
The outgoing National Teaching Committee was composed of John W. Conkling of Evanston, Illinois, secretary; Dr. Robert Henderson of Roswell, Georgia, chairman; Mrs. Conrad; Mrs. Jolie Haug of Fort Collins, Colorado; Dr. Fereydoun Jalali of Fort Valley, Georgia; Dr. Geoffry W. Marks of Wilmette, Illinois; Larry Miller of Roswell, Georgia; and Wayne Steffes of Fontana, California.
THE NATIONAL Spiritual Assembly’s mandate to the new Teaching Committee emphasizes several specific functions:
• Encourage and assist the development of Local Spiritual Assemblies in such a way that the Committee’s work will embrace and accommodate the services rendered to these Assemblies by the Auxiliary Board members and their assistants.
• Direct the activities of the District Teaching Committees whose main functions are to open new localities to the Faith and develop Groups to Assembly status.
• Stimulate and coordinate the activities of the Bahá’í youth through the instrumentality of a National Youth Committee, which will be appointed by the National Spiritual Assembly as an auxiliary of the National Teaching Committee.
• Conceive, promote and encourage proclamation activities.
• Establish and maintain a system of traveling teachers who will function in accordance with the guidelines given by the Universal House of Justice.
• Assist the National Spiritual Assembly to maintain effective collaboration in the field between the teaching agencies under (the Committee’s) aegis and the Auxiliary Boards.
• Appoint and direct the work of such auxiliary agencies as are needed by the Committee and approved by the National Spiritual Assembly.
• Organize and maintain an office for the proper execution of the Committee’s business.
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CLASSIFIEDS
CLASSIFIED notices in The American Bahá’í are printed free of charge as a service to the Bahá’í community. Notices are limited to items relating to the Faith; no commercial or personal messages can be accepted for publication.
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THE SPIRITUAL Assembly of San Francisco needs a confidential secretary at its Bahá’í Center. Qualifications include office management skills and the ability to operate duplicating equipment, answer telephones and greet the public. The applicant should be a Bahá’í with some administrative experience; the ability to speak Chinese, Persian or Spanish is desirable. Those who are interested should phone Kathleen Swanegan at 415-333-2157, or write c/o the Bahá’í Center, 170 Valencia St., San Francisco, CA 94103.
THE TENNESSEE Bahá’í Institute Committee is sponsoring a Labor Day weekend conference August 29-September 1 at the Dubose Conference Center in Monteagle, Tennessee. Among the participants will be Dr. Iraj Ayman, a Counsellor for Western Asia, and Glenford E. Mitchell, secretary of the National Spiritual Assembly. Housing costs range from $45 (single) for a Holiday Inn-style room for three nights to as low as $15 for a cabin or $9 for sleeping bag accommodations. Meals (8) are $20 (adults), $10 (ages 7-12), or free (under age 7). For more information, please contact the committee at Route 1, Sussex Drive, Box 835, Morristown, TN 37814, or phone 615-586-9247.
WANT TO LEAVE the city and lead a simpler existence? We need you on the Lower Brule Indian Reservation in central South Dakota, where two pioneers must leave to return to school. We have a lovely community with an Assembly of nine Native Americans who will continue to need administrative guidance. Needed is a strong Bahá’í individual or couple. Jobs available include first grade teacher, fourth grade teacher, seventh grade reading and English teacher, high school social sciences and science teachers, several special education teachers, and a physician’s assistant at a local clinic. Applications for teaching positions are needed immediately. Housing is available at a reasonable cost ($170/month plus $100/month or less for utilities) in this community on the beautiful Missouri River. Interested? Write to Barbara Rudolph, Lower Brule, SD 57548, or phone 605-473-5450.
BILINGUAL elementary school teaching jobs available immediately in Douglas, Arizona. Also, master’s degree social worker or counselor’s position open with County Juvenile Court Center. For latter position, send resumes to Joan Lozier, P.O. Box 641, Douglas, AZ 85607. Deepened Bahá’ís are needed for consolidation and expansion in Douglas and the surrounding area including the Mexican border town of Agua Prieta, Sonora, Mexico. This is homefront pioneering; our Group is dropping to two. Phone 602-364-8207.
TEACHING POSITIONS in Alaska; The North Slope Borough school district is accepting applications for teaching/administrative positions for the 1980-81 school year. Especially sought are couples who are teachers to work above the Arctic Circle. Most of the schools are small, and staff members must be generalists rather than specialists, and committed to the philosophy of individualized instruction. The annual salary range is from $21,000 to $42,000, plus liberal benefits. If you meet the above qualifications, please contact the International Goals Committee, 112 Linden Avenue, Wilmette, IL 60091.
MOVE TO SPRING HOPE, North Carolina, home of the National Pumpkin Festival, and help us establish a Group of five by the anniversary of the Birth of the Báb, October 20, 1980. This is a predominantly agricultural area within an hour’s drive of Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill, home of numerous research facilities, three major universities, medical centers, and tobacco processing plants. Employment in that area is plentiful; housing and cost of living in Spring Hope are relatively low. The Bahá’ís of Spring Hope will provide rent-free living quarters for two weeks to any Bahá’í moving to the area. If you are interested in pioneering to this lovely, quiet southern town, please write to the Bahá’í Group of Spring Hope, Box 297, Spring Hope, NC 27882, or phone Jim or Kate Wilkinson (evenings) at 919-476-5030.
GLORY, a Bahá’í youth deepening magazine published bimonthly in India, invites articles, poetry and photos from the friends everywhere. Your contributions will have to be honorary; you will be sharing your journalistic or artistic talents with Bahá’ís in all countries, as Glory has a worldwide circulation. Among themes for future issues are “Transformation of the Word of God,” “Priorities,” “Sacrifice,” and “Consultation.” Contributions should be sent as soon as possible to the editor, Glory magazine, P.O. Box 19, Panchgani 412805, Maharashtra, India.
THE GREATER Las Vegas Bahá’í Media Committee would like to thank the friends for the scores of billboards they have ordered to help spread the Message of Bahá’u’lláh. As a special favor, the committee requests that future orders be accompanied by an address other than a post office box number so that materials can be forwarded to it in case of a problem in mailing them to the post office box. Thank you. The committee’s address is P.O. Box 4937, Las Vegas, NV 89106.
HELP WANTED: Musicians (singers, dancers, instrumentalists, groups or individuals) to perform benefit concerts and entertain during direct and indirect teaching efforts in and around the Southern Ute Indian Reservation in Colorado. Traveling teachers and/or homefront pioneers with knowledge and experience in arts and crafts, community services, gardening, drug or alcoholism counseling, children’s activities, personal growth, etc., needed. For more information, please write to the Bahá’ís of the Southern Ute Reservation, Box 267, Ignacio, CO 81137, or phone 303-563-4274.
CALLING ALL ARTISTS! A giant Art Festival traveling to teach the Faith starts in Sacramento, California, on March 21, 1981. Fine arts, crafts, painting, sculpture, performing arts to be included. For information and entry blanks, please write to the Spiritual Assembly of Sacramento, Box No. 161252, Sacramento, CA 95816.
WE WELCOME to the Wenatchee Valley Persian Bahá’ís who may wish to pioneer to the beautiful state of Washington. We have several small Groups but no Assemblies. For information, write to Mr. or Mrs. Steve Brown, Star Route Box 2-M, Leavenworth, WA 98826, or phone 509-546-7863.
HELP WANTED. The District Teaching Committee of Central North Carolina needs willing and enthusiastic traveling teachers for various summer teaching projects. Those who have their own transportation and can spend two weeks or more in North Carolina may participate in teaching-consolidation work in several areas. The District Teaching Committee will help by providing room and board and some gas expenses. For a summer you’ll always remember, please contact the District Teaching Committee of Central North Carolina, 5811 Newhall Road, Durham, NC 27713 (Attention: Melissa Tansik, secretary), or phone 919-544-3895.
COME TO GALLUP, New Mexico, and help sustain a newly-formed Assembly. Five to seven members of the Assembly must move from the Gallup area during the summer. Gallup is on the border of the Navajo-Hopi Indian Reservation and near the soon-to-be-built Southwest Bahá’í Institute. Available positions include teaching (all areas). For information, please contact the Gallup-McKinley County School District, Gallup, NM 87301, or James Stone, vice-chairman, Spiritual Assembly of Gallup, 627 N. 5th St., Gallup, NM 87301, or phone 505-863-6701.
THE BAHÁ’Í community of Honolulu, Hawaii, is greatly in need of someone to teach English to the many Laotian believers who have recently arrived in that area. There are about 25 families with a total of more than 65 members, many of whom are having trouble finding and holding jobs owing to the language barrier. It is hoped that the bounty of residing in the “paradise of the Pacific” would be sufficient reimbursement. If interested, please contact the International Goals Committee, 112 Linden Avenue, Wilmette, IL 60091, or phone 312-256-4400.
WANTED: English- and Spanish-speaking Bahá’ís for “Project Olinga,” a teaching campaign in and around Joliet, Illinois, now in progress (July 6-August 31). Limited hospitality is available on a first-come, first-served basis. Special briefing and training for teachers arriving in August. Youth are encouraged to ask their Assemblies about subsidizing their participation. “Project Olinga” is sponsored by the Spiritual Assembly of Joliet. For details, phone project coordinators Donna Kime Barbre, 815-723-8488, or Ann Arp, 815-744-6950.
I WOULD LIKE to contact fellow Bahá’ís who want to complete their collections of Bahá’í publications (Bahá’í News, The American Bahá’í, etc.) and are willing to trade or barter for needed issues. I am searching for issues of Bahá’í News in the 1920’s and 1930’s. My duplicates include Bahá’í News, U.S. Supplement, Bahá’í National Review and The American Bahá’í. Contact Christopher Polzer, 6657 Basswood, Ludington, MI 49431, or phone 616-846-3732.
THE UNIVERSITY of the West Indies in Kingston, Jamaica, is in dire need of lecturers for various departments, especially those who are qualified in computer sciences. Those who are employed from abroad are exempted from taxes for two years, after which they must pay a tax. That is why many of those who have completed a two-year stay are leaving. This is a great opportunity for those who have the necessary qualifications to pioneer to Jamaica. For more information, please contact the International Goals Committee, 112 Linden Avenue, Wilmette, IL 60091, or phone 312-256-4400.
THE INTERNATIONAL City Managers’ Association is assisting the Bureau of Indian Affairs, Department of the Interior, in developing a cadre of tribal managers. Selections will be made from individuals in a wide range of occupational specialties to work with tribal governments on Indian Reservations throughout the U.S. for periods ranging from six to 24 months. Salary range: $25,000-$40,000 a year. Contact Don Burot at ICMA, 202-826-3609.
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THE MINNESOTA Bahá’í Summer School will be held August 3-8 at the Frontenac Methodist Camp in Frontenac, Minnesota, on the beautiful Mississippi River away from big-city noise and congestion. This is the first Minnesota school to have two sessions; therefore, those who were turned away in the past will be able to attend. Activities will include swimming, volleyball, bonfires, etc., plus a well-balanced, family-oriented schedule of classes with a new, more flexible curriculum. For more information, please contact
Seals & Crofts leave for pioneer posts[edit]
Continued From Page 1
in our business relationship is that we’ll be commuting when we work together, and we obviously won’t be touring as much as we have in the past.”
Jim estimates that the team will make about six trips to the U.S. each year.
Seals and Crofts’ latest album, “The Longest Road,” was completed shortly before they left the U.S. for their pioneering posts.
The Way Home is the working title of a book they are writing about their search for the Faith and their lives as believers while in the public eye.
The two multi-talented and highly successful musicians, who first teamed up while still in junior high school in Texas, have four million-selling albums to their credit: “Summer Breeze,” “Diamond Girl,” “Unborn Child,” and “Seals and Crofts’ Greatest Hits.”
IN ADDITION, their recordings of “Summer Breeze,” “Diamond Girl” and “Hummingbird” were among the top selling singles of the last decade.
When he was five years old, Jim Seals already was playing a Sears catalog violin and learning to play his father’s guitar.
Four years later he won the Texas state championship fiddle contest, then turned his attention to the saxophone, which became his principal instrument until the formation years later of the team of Seals and Crofts.
Dash, meanwhile, studied classical piano as a child, at the urging of his mother, but found the drums more exciting.
When Dash was seven his parents finally gave in and bought him his first set of drums.
After high school, Jim and Dash found their way to Los Angeles where they played with various bands and composed songs for Brenda Lee, Rick Nelson and other performers.
THEY TOURED the world for seven years with “The Champs,” an early rock group whose big hit recording of “Tequila” sold six million copies.
Their next venture was a group called “The Dawnbreakers,” which featured Dash on drums, Jim on rhythm guitar and saxophone, Louie Shelton on guitar and Joey Bogan on bass.
That group also included three female singers, one of whom became Dash’s wife.
It was during this time that Jim and Dash were studying the Faith with Marcia Day, who was to become their manager. Later, after “The Dawnbreakers” had decided to go their separate ways and Dash had taken up the mandolin, Seals and Crofts was formed.
“We had found the Truth,” said Dash, “and our vehicle for expressing it was our music.”
Much of their music has been inspired by the Writings of the Faith, including such memorable songs as “Year of Sundays,” “East of Ginger Trees” and “Hummingbird.”
Dash, elaborating on his decision to pioneer, said, “A person’s priorities can become a little confused, like mine did.
“I WAS BEGINNING to think that my situation here (in California) somehow carried a greater priority than pioneering, but it didn’t.
“One’s priority should always be the Cause of God, especially in this day. These opportunities we have now will never come again.”
Dash admitted to having some anxieties between the time he made the decision to go to Mexico and the move itself.
His fears were calmed, he said, by “A Call to Pioneering,” the cassette tape featuring the Hand of the Cause of God William Sears that is available from the Bahá’í Publishing Trust.
“I would encourage other Bahá’ís who have the desire to go pioneering but think they are bogged down with problems,” said Dash, “to re-examine those problems to see whether they are real or exist only in their imagination.”
Jim Seals had been in his new home in Costa Rica for two weeks when he was asked about his feelings toward his pioneering post.
“I love it!” he said, his voice filled with emotion. “It is really beautiful!”
Dash Crofts (center), Jim Seals, their wives and family members gathered in May for a farewell party hosted by the Bahá’ís of Culver City, California. Their manager, Marcia Day, is at the left. Dash’s wife, Billie Lee, has an arm around a niece. The other three children are those of Jim and his wife, Ruby Jean.
Business group formed[edit]
To reach a greater cross-section of society in their community, the Bahá’ís of Rolling Meadows, Illinois, have formed the Rolling Meadows Bahá’í Association of Business and Industry.
Among its plans are a series of dinners with guest speakers, and tours of area businesses and plants.
Auction raises $245 for Fund[edit]
The mood of the social portion of the Feast of Jalal in Greenfield, Massachusetts, went from pleasant to thrilling as homemade items and cherished personal possessions were auctioned to raise money for the National Bahá’í Fund.
The 25 adults and six children from five communities in the Northern Pioneer Valley and the Berkshire Mountains of western Massachusetts were thrilled when the host Greenfield Group announced the final tally of $245.33.
Especially inspiring was the spontaneous offer for auction of a sterling silver ring with a lapis stone of considerable weight and beauty. It provided the auction with its single largest contribution.
Yonkers, New York, Bahá’í named ‘Goodwill Ambassador’ by mayor[edit]
Solomon Hilton, a member of the Spiritual Assembly of Yonkers, New York, has been chosen by the city’s mayor as its “Goodwill Ambassador” to the village of Falaba, Sierra Leone.
Arrangements are being made for Mr. Hilton, who was born in Falaba, to deliver a 100-year-old bell to the village school there as a gift from the South Yonkers Youth Council.
THE DELIVERY of this “Bell of Friendship” will mark the initiation of an ongoing relationship with the African village.
The trip will have special significance for Mr. Hilton because he and his family were instrumental in bringing the Falaba school into existence in the mid-1950s.
As a youngster in Falaba, Mr. Hilton had to attend school in a neighboring village, as there was no school in his own village at that time.
“When I saw the bell in a thrift shop owned by the South Yonkers Youth Council,” says Mr. Hilton, “my first reaction was to make arrangements to buy it for the school in Falaba.”
Village schools in the hinterlands of most African countries, he explains, use clanging devices such as railroad irons to remind students of the time.
Falaba, he says, is a relatively small farming village of under 300 residents. The village school has about 80 to 90 students, many of whom live in nearby villages.
FALABA IS governed by a leader of the Mende tribe who happens also to be Mr. Hilton’s cousin.
Mr. Hilton and his family came to the U.S. in 1964. His children, Solomon and Sombo, had attended the village school in Falaba, and more recently were graduated from a high school in Yonkers.
Mr. Hilton, an assistant resource consultant for the New York City Department of Social Services, is a member of the South Yonkers Youth Council’s Falaba Project Committee, begun last fall as a means of supporting the United Nations International Year of the Child.
Solomon Hilton (left, in checkered coat), a member of the Spiritual Assembly of Yonkers, New York, has been named ‘Goodwill Ambassador’ to his native village in Sierra Leone by Mayor Angelo Martinelli of Yonkers (right). Funds are being raised to enable Mr. Hilton to deliver a 100-year old ‘Bell of Friendship’ to the village school in Falaba, Sierra Leone, on behalf of the people of Yonkers.
This is the bell to be taken to Sierra Leone by ‘Goodwill Ambassador’ Solomon Hilton of Yonkers, New York.
Classifieds[edit]
Continued From Page 22
the registrar, Ms. Barbara Loading, 1688 Arona St., Apt. 2, Falcon Heights, MN 55113, or phone 612-647-1014.
THE MERIDIAN Township, Michigan, Bahá’í community needs one adult Bahá’í to re-form its Spiritual Assembly. A professional person willing to settle there and give stability to the community is preferred. Meridian Township, which has eight adult Bahá’ís, is in the Lansing area and offers cultural activities as well as an affluent business community. For more information, please write to Martha Cavanagh, 4396 Okemos Road, E212, Okemos, MI 48864, or phone 517-349-3925.
WANTED: Letters from all our friends who have attended the New Era High School in India. We would like to know about you and keep track of where you are so that, hopefully, we will meet each other again someday. Please write to Shohreh Kermani and Fariba Moghaddam, 8 Dewey Avenue, Westfield, MA 01085, or phone 413-562-0189.
JOB OPPORTUNITIES in Finland. As the Scandinavian countries gradually close their doors to foreigners, there remain at least two ways for Bahá’í pioneers to get into Finland. Jobs are available as night school English teachers or as kindergarten teachers at English-speaking schools. Anyone who has a college degree or teacher’s certificate may qualify for these jobs. Many openings are available for September 1980. For further information, contact the International Goals Committee, 112 Linden Avenue, Wilmette, IL 60091, or phone 312-256-4400.
AM PREPARING a workshop for a National Early Childhood Education Conference and need material for children ages 3-9 on the Hindu, Muslim and Buddhist faiths: finger plays, songs, stories. Any original finger plays, etc., for the Bahá’í Faith also are welcome. Please send to Jacqueline Osborne, 1808 Maple Avenue, Florence, AL 35630.
BAHÁ’Í COUPLE desires to homefront pioneer anywhere for one year before going to graduate school in public health in 1981. Would like to gain practical work experience in the health field in a rural community or on an Indian Reservation if possible. Please contact Diana Royal, 8 Countryside Road, Fairport, NY 14450, or phone 716-381-4089.
A TWO-BEDROOM concrete home on a fenced 1/3-acre lot is available near Belize City, in Belize, Central America. The home has two baths, many tropical fruit and flowering trees; it also has running water and electricity, not available in most homes in that area. It is in Burrell Boom village, about 18 miles from Belize City, a good location to get to roads to the west and south, and to the north toward Mexico. If interested, please contact W. Ford Young, Real Estate Ltd., 160 N. Front St., Box 354, Belize City, Belize, Central America.
SEVERAL TEACHING and administrative positions are available for the 1980-81 school year in Browning, Montana, on the Blackfeet Indian Reservation. Needed are a superintendent of schools, junior high school principal and vice-principal, 7th and 8th grade English teachers, psychologist, hearing and speech personnel for grades K-12, 7th grade math teacher, reading specialist for grades 7-9, shop teacher (grades 7-12), and junior high school counselor. For more information, please write to the Browning Public Schools, Browning, MT 59417.
WEST TEXAS wants you! Move to Abilene, where you’ll find good employment opportunities, congenial weather, and a challenging community in which to teach the Faith. We’ll help you relocate. Write to Candice Bowers, secretary, 3157 South 19th, Abilene, TX 79605, or phone 915-698-7237.
GLORY, an international Bahá’í deepening magazine published bimonthly by the National Youth Committee of the Bahá’ís of India, invites your subscription. Glory regularly presents a diverse range of materials from articles by Bahá’í scholars and stories of martyrs and heroes of the Faith to biographies, book news and reviews, compilations from the Writings, poems, skits, puzzles, quizzes and ideas for individual and community improvement. Subscription rates: Air mail to the U.S., $7.50; surface mail to the U.S., $4 for one or two years. To subscribe, write to Glory c/o Lucky, Main Road, Panchgani 412805, Maharashtra, India.
BAHÁ’Í FILMS for sale. Four films covering the visit of the Hand of the Cause A.Q. Faizí to San Francisco in July 1973. The films are “Prayers and Meditations,” “Answered Questions,” “Bahá’í Education of Children,” and “Stories and Excerpts.” The cost is $350 each, or $1,200 for the set of four. A limited number is available from the Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of San Francisco, 170 Valencia St., San Francisco, CA 94103.
SOUTH CAROLINA needs volunteers to help with consolidation work in the vicinity of the Louis G. Gregory Bahá’í Institute near Hemingway. The need is great for deepened, dedicated, self-supporting Bahá’ís of all ages. Please apply to the Louis Gregory Bahá’í Institute, Route 2, Box 71, Hemingway, SC 29554, or phone 803-558-5093.
HOMEFRONT PIONEERS are needed to help a Bahá’í Group of four in Calvert County, Maryland, achieve Assembly status. Calvert County is 30 miles from Washington, D.C., 50 miles from Baltimore, and 27 miles from Annapolis, the capital of Maryland. There are beautiful beaches and waterfront homes in this fast-growing county. For more information, please phone 301-535-2072 after 5 p.m. (EDT). We will help in any way we can.
G. Acre hosts ‘Spanish weekend’[edit]
The Green Acre Bahá’í School in Eliot, Maine, held its first teaching and deepening weekend for Spanish-speaking believers and their non-Bahá’í friends March 29-30.
Auxiliary Board member Jorge Nossa of Mexico, who is a Colombian Indian, conducted a workshop entitled “Teaching Spanish-Speaking Seekers.”
Susan Nossa, an assistant to the Auxiliary Board from Mexico, and Cherie Martinez, a Bahá’í representative to the United Nations from Mexico, also participated in the Spanish-language sessions.
“The Love of God” was the topic discussed at a Sunday session by Zohreh Granfar, who served for many years as a pioneer to Spain.
A Spanish-style luncheon was served to conclude the first “Spanish weekend” at Green Acre, but many of the participants lingered into the afternoon, reluctant to part.
The school hopes to host many such programs in the future as part of an effort by New England believers to reach their Spanish-speaking neighbors.
Children enjoyed one another’s company and games provided for them during the first Spanish language teaching and deepening weekend March 29-30 at the Green Acre Bahá’í School in Eliot, Maine.
Bahá’í World reprinted[edit]
The Department of Publishing at the Bahá’í World Centre has announced that Volume XIII of The Bahá’í World, which covers the years 1954 to 1963 and has been out of print for some time, is being reprinted.
It will be exactly the same as the original volume, except that the two maps that were inserted in pockets on the inside of the front and back covers will not be included.
The price for the new printing is $25 NET (Catalog No. 7-33-13).
Please send orders to the Bahá’í Publishing Trust, 415 Linden Avenue, Wilmette, IL 60091.
Center employee wins art award[edit]
William Dennisuk, a mail services staff member at the Bahá’í National Center, has won a $2,500 grant from The School of the Art Institute of Chicago where he recently earned a Master of Fine Arts degree in painting.
Mr. Dennisuk’s works were judged as being among the seven best gallery exhibits of those displayed by the 225 graduating students at the Art Institute.
The four judges—an art critic, painter, filmmaker and photographer—were selected from various parts of the country.
Mr. Dennisuk, a native of Detroit, Michigan, uses various materials such as wood, canvas, slate and metals in his approach to contemporary art, which he says is influenced by the Faith.
“I take materials that are not traditionally used together and try to make them work together,” says Mr. Dennisuk. “A basic premise of my work is that there is an underlying, fundamental unity to all things.”
Dr. Alice Loomis, age 100, holds one month-old Nathaniel Armstrong. Both are members of the Lincoln, Nebraska, Bahá’í community. Dr. Loomis, a Bahá’í since her early 80s, was an innovator in educational human relations and sociology who is presently researching the causes of senility. ‘The most important thing in life,’ she says, ‘is to be useful to human needs.’
The Bahá’í children’s chorus, ‘The Children of Baha’, appeared May 4 on the KNBC-TV (Los Angeles) program, ‘Odyssey’. The Bahá’í chorus shared the program with United Nations representative Robert Muller who spoke about a ‘new spirituality’ that he believes will pull the world through its present period of crisis and confrontation. ‘The Children of Baha’ are shown here with their director, Mrs. Mary Lomke (standing left of center), and Warren Olney, host of Odyssey. The program is seen by an estimated 100,000 viewers each week.
[Page 25]
The Hand of the Cause of God William Sears and Mrs. Sears at the dedication February 10 of the William Sears Bahá’í School in Pasadena, California
Pasadena school named for Mr. Sears[edit]
In January, the Pasadena (California) Intercommunity Bahá’í School renamed its facility the William Sears Bahá’í School.
The dedication was held February 10 with the Hand of the Cause of God William Sears and his wife, Marguerite, present. More than 200 Bahá’ís came to share in the celebration.
Mr. Sears told stories about other Bahá’í schools around the world and showed his slides of Mt. Carmel and the Holy Land, while Mrs. Sears showed the children how to cut a nine-pointed star from a folded piece of newspaper.
There were flowers, music, and a cake decorated with the school’s name. Steve Pennington, a Bahá’í from San Gabriel, made a lovely wood-carved sign for the school, and presented Mr. Sears with a sign for his residence.
As a token of his appreciation, Mr. Sears gave everyone present a gift of the record, “The Queen of Carmel.”
The Sears School serves 16 Bahá’í communities: Pasadena, South Pasadena, La Crescenta, La Cañada-Flintridge, Altadena, Sierra Madre, Alhambra, San Marino, Burbank, Glendale, Temple City, Arcadia, Rosemead, San Gabriel, El Monte, and Monrovia.
Regional Persian conferences restricted[edit]
On April 11, the Office of the Secretary at the Bahá’í National Center sent the following letter to all Local Spiritual Assemblies in the U.S. on behalf of the National Spiritual Assembly:
“The situation which has arisen as a result of the difficulties between Iran and the United States makes it unwise for Persian believers to congregate in large gatherings at present.
“You are perhaps aware that the recent Persian conference in Los Angeles was foreshortened by a bomb threat. Quite apart from the obvious delicateness of the situation, the potential dangers hanging over the Iranians in the United States, we feel that enough regional conferences have been held for the Persian Bahá’ís for the time being.
“WHILE WE encourage local initiative in assisting the Persian believers to become fully integrated into the American Bahá’í community, we do not wish Local Assemblies to sponsor regional conferences for Persians.
“Certain segments of the American public and the media have long thought that the Bahá’í community in the United States is simply a collection of Iranian transplants. We have been combatting this misconception ever since the crisis began more than a year ago.
“Therefore, it does us no good whatever, on the one hand, to endeavor to impress upon the public the broad-based American membership of the Bahá’í community in the United States and, on the other, to hold so many Persian events as to lend credence to the misconception.
“We need to be careful about the number, extent and nature of the events we hold for the benefit of the Persian believers in our midst ...
“The complexity of dealing with the heavy influx of Persian believers in the wake of the current crisis prompted the National Assembly to appoint a Persian Affairs Committee to assist these friends and to advise Local Assemblies having a number of Persian believers in their communities.
“The National Assembly exercises close supervision over the work of the Committee to ensure proper handling of the tasks assigned to it.
“We would be grateful indeed if Local Assemblies would turn to this Committee for advice ... and heed its decisions and recommendations.”
50 attend Plattsburgh, N.Y., deepening[edit]
A group of 50 believers from New York state, Vermont and Canada, along with several non-Bahá’ís, attended a deepening institute April 20-21 near Plattsburgh, New York.
Speakers included Auxiliary Board members Javidukht Khadem of Skokie, Illinois, and Nathan Rutstein of Amherst, Massachusetts.
Assistants to the Auxiliary Board Shannon Javid and Ronald Tomanio presented workshops, as did two members of the District Teaching Committee of Western New York, which sponsored this first such conference in New York’s “north country.”
The Auxiliary Board members spoke about our responsibilities as Bahá’ís, the need to set priorities and put the Administrative Order in perspective, as well as about our role in the Seven Year Plan.
Other discussions were held on the relationship between Bahá’í children and adults, peer problems facing younger Bahá’ís, and the answers to the world’s present crises.
The conference, which included classes for children, ended with a picnic lunch at a nearby state park.
David Nawi of Flushing, New York, age 2 1/2, tries his hand at the maracas during a children’s class at the first deepening conference in New York state’s ‘north country’ April 20-21.
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The Hand of the Cause of God Zikrullah Khadem (center, smiling) was an honored guest speaker at the ‘Bahá’í Life Conference’ April 12-13 at MacMurray College in Jacksonville, Illinois.
130 believers hear Mr. Khadem at Illinois ‘Bahá’í Life’ gathering[edit]
The Hand of the Cause of God Zikrullah Khadem and Auxiliary Board member Stephen Ader were the guest speakers April 12-13 at a “Bahá’í Life Conference” at MacMurray College in Jacksonville, Illinois.
The conference, the first in a series of three gatherings designed to help improve the spiritual, intellectual and community life of believers in Southern Illinois, was attended by some 130 of the friends.
The meeting was sponsored by the District Teaching Committee of Southern Illinois. It featured talks by the guest speakers, as well as seminars on marriage and family life, community life, the Fund, and homefront pioneering.
Musical entertainment was provided by the “Sounds of Light” from St. Louis, and by singer Donna Kime Barbre of Joliet, Illinois.
The Hand of the Cause Mr. Khadem told his audience that every atom, every created thing, and every event promotes the Message of God, either by bringing attention to the Faith or by demonstrating the critical need for it.
The new World Order, he said, has so upset the world’s equilibrium that one is safe only when he is firm in the Covenant.
A second conference was scheduled June 7-8 in Bloomington, Illinois, with the dates and location of the third to be determined later.
Service for the Blind[edit]
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For a printed catalog write:
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Top medical society taps Bahá’í[edit]
Dr. Manucher Javid, a Bahá’í from Madison, Wisconsin, who is chairman of the division of neurosurgery at the University of Wisconsin Medical School, is one of 10 neurosurgeons in the world to be named a charter member of the Xeiron Society, an organization aimed at promoting original work by neurosurgeons.
Dr. Javid was cited for introducing the use of urea to reduce high intracranial pressure in brain surgery.
Such pressure can lead to brain damage and death. Dr. Javid’s discovery has saved countless lives, according to experts in the field of neurosurgery.
The Xeiron Society is named for Aesculapius, the god of healing in Greek mythology.
Five of the other charter members of the society are from the U.S., two are from Canada, one is from the Netherlands, and one is from the Soviet Union.
‘Deee-licious!’ was a comment heard frequently during a potluck picnic held in Chandler, Arizona, to celebrate the last day of Ayyám-i-Há, and the reaction of young Casey Langness was no exception. Breaking a piñata and singing songs added to the gaiety of the occasion, and the recent influx of Persian believers in the area added an international flavor to the event. In the spirit of hospitality, several Bahá’ís took plates of food to the friends in the area who weren’t able to attend.
Alla Dakserhof dead at age 82[edit]
Alla Dakserhof of Bellevue, Washington, a Bahá’í for 30 years who was widely known in the Northwest for her valiant and steadfast promotion of the Faith, died April 17 at the age of 82.
Mrs. Dakserhof, born September 16, 1897, in Petrograd (now Leningrad), Russia, studied music at the Conservatory there before leaving Russia with her husband in May 1918.
AFTER SPENDING 12 years in Canada, she and her family came to the U.S. in 1930. Mrs. Dakserhof became a Bahá’í in 1950. Her husband, George, who died in 1967, embraced the Faith in 1955.
Mrs. Dakserhof, a piano teacher by profession and an indefatigable Bahá’í teacher as well, conducted numerous firesides, discussion groups and public meetings, teaching every age group.
For 17 years she was in charge of the library at the Geyserville Bahá’í School in California. She served on national, regional and local committees, and was many times a delegate to the National Bahá’í Convention.
Mrs. Dakserhof was a student of comparative religions, and presented courses on that subject at the University of California, the University of Washington, and Highline Community College.
In June 1978, her name was entered in the records of the Hall of Fame of the Piano Guild of the U.S. for her achievements in music teaching.
Mrs. Irene Reynolds, long-time Massachusetts believer, dies[edit]
Mrs. Irene B. Reynolds of Beverly, Massachusetts, a devoted Bahá’í for 30 years, died March 6.
Mrs. Reynolds, whose Bahá’í teachers included Harlan Ober and Dr. Elizabeth Kidder, was a dedicated teacher who served for several years in the bookstore at Green Acre Bahá’í School in Eliot, Maine.
She was a member of the Spiritual Assembly of Beverly until the time of her passing.
Jack F. Parr, Colorado homefront pioneer, dead[edit]
Jack F. Parr, the first homefront pioneer to Loveland, Colorado, died July 11, 1979.
Mr. Parr, who was born December 23, 1912, in Butte, Montana, spent most of his adult life in public relations.
He was known as “Hobo Jack,” a nickname given to him during his travels with carnival troupes throughout the U.S.
DURING THE 1930s Mr. Parr went to Hollywood where he formed friendships with many of the early stars of stage and screen, some of whom came to Loveland to visit him as recently as last year and entertained residents at the retirement village where he lived.
Active in marathon walking and marathon dancing, two of the crazes of the period, Mr. Parr won an 87-day walkathon at Hollywood’s Polar Ice Rink in 1934.
He was shown in newsreels and in a photo shaking hands with Frankie Darro, a movie star of the ’30s who had bet $1000 that Mr. Parr would win the contest.
For 46 years Mr. Parr was a private contractor in custodial services, and for 14 years before his death operated a promotional advertising business.
Mr. Parr embraced the Faith in Butte in 1965. Shortly afterward, he moved to Loveland and was a member of its first Spiritual Assembly, formed in 1973. He served for two years as treasurer of the Assembly.
Jack F. Parr, who was the first Bahá’í homefront pioneer to Loveland, Colorado, and was a member of its first Spiritual Assembly in 1973. Mr. Parr died in July 1979 at the age of 66.
Dr. Isaac Asimov (fourth from left) was among the speakers March 29 at a symposium on ‘Science and the Future of Mankind’ sponsored by the Spiritual Assembly of New York City in cooperation with the National Spiritual Assembly’s office at the United Nations. Among the friends with Dr. Asimov is Dr. Hussein Ahdieh (second from right), chairman of the Spiritual Assembly of New York City. An article about the symposium appeared in the May issue of The American Bahá’í.
In memoriam[edit]
- William V. Ackerman
- Loveland, Colorado
- October 25, 1979
- Mrs. Geneva S. Alvarez
- New York, N.Y.
- April 6, 1980
- Goldtooth Begay
- Holbrook, Arizona
- Date Unknown
- Mack Bennett
- Elgin, South Carolina
- April 16, 1980
- Raymond Betts
- East Berne, New York
- November 19, 1979
- Charlie C. Brown
- Ideal, Georgia
- Fall 1979
- Parish Cabbagestalk
- Hartsville, S.C.
- November 7, 1979
- Mrs. Cloteal Casselberry
- Wichita Falls, Texas
- October 1979
- Mrs. Sophie Chief
- Fort Thompson, South Dakota
- April 25, 1980
- Freddie Chisholm
- Dale, South Carolina
- March 31, 1980
- George Cole
- Vashon, Washington
- April 3, 1980
- Mrs. Helen Conley
- Mound City, Illinois
- Date Unknown
- Mrs. Alla Dakserhof
- Bellevue, Washington
- April 17, 1980
- James Dawson
- Vienna, Georgia
- Date Unknown
- Charles W. Ellison
- Westminster, Maryland
- April 4, 1980
- Mrs. Minnie England
- Locust Grove, Okla.
- May 6, 1980
- Mrs. Annie M. Evans
- Vienna, Georgia
- Date Unknown
- Herbert W. Forman Jr.
- Rochester, New York
- Date Unknown
- Mrs. Mayme Glass
- Alhambra, California
- April 23, 1980
- Mrs. Gypsy G. Gonzalez
- Washington, D.C.
- January 1980
- Miss Lucinda Greene
- Rimini, South Carolina
- January 1979
- Mrs. Olive H. Hackney
- Cleveland, Ohio
- February 25, 1980
- Mrs. Serrita C. Herbert
- Los Angeles, California
- March 6, 1980
- James L. Higdon
- Rochester, New York
- April 5, 1980
- Mrs. Rosa Holt
- Vienna, Georgia
- October 10, 1978
- Gerald M. Horne
- Oceanside, California
- March 17, 1980
- Ernest Jackson
- Waynesboro, Georgia
- Summer 1979
- James Henry Johnson
- Newport, Oregon
- Date Unknown
- Jimmy Jorney
- Marshallville, Georgia
- Date Unknown
- John Joseph
- Vienna, Georgia
- Date Unknown
- Nurollah Khamsi
- Houston, Texas
- April 15, 1980
- A. C. Little
- Marshallville, Georgia
- Date Unknown
- Miss Hazel M. Little
- Tucson, Arizona
- April 3, 1980
- James P. McClellan
- Sierra Vista, Arizona
- March 24, 1980
- George McCray
- Homestead, Florida
- Date Unknown
- Julius J. McCray
- Pineville, S.C.
- 1978
- Mrs. Lillian McLeod
- Bassfield, Mississippi
- February 8, 1980
- David McNeil
- Darlington, S.C.
- Date Unknown
- Morris Middlebrooks
- Senoia, Georgia
- Date Unknown
- Chuck Montoya
- Dulce, New Mexico
- Summer 1979
- Mrs. Clara Morris
- Albany, Oregon
- May 30, 1979
- Edward Paddy
- Fort Hall, Idaho
- April 13, 1980
- Earl Patterson
- New York, N.Y.
- April 24, 1980
- Gustav P. Piff
- Puyallup, Washington
- March 22, 1980
- Lang A. Prescott Sr.
- Livingston, Texas
- July 1, 1978
- Fred Randolph
- Bridgeport, Connecticut
- March 1, 1980
- Mrs. Reva Robinson
- Naples, Florida
- March 1980
- George Ross
- Griffin, Georgia
- March 1980
- Hugh Rouse
- Poway, California
- April 2, 1980
- Miss Vicenta Salenas
- Buckeye, Arizona
- Date Unknown
- Hawaiian Sales
- Buena Vista, Georgia
- 1979
- Edmond Scott
- Union Springs, Ala.
- March 1980
- Mrs. Militza Shevtzoff
- San Diego, California
- Date Unknown
- Mrs. Willie Mae Smith
- Gifford, Florida
- Date Unknown
- Sherman Solomon
- Union Springs, Ala.
- Date Unknown
- Mrs. Carrie Stevenson
- Winnsboro, South Carolina
- November 28, 1979
- Mrs. Grace Stewart
- Westborough, Mass.
- April 14, 1980
- William Swift
- Union Springs, Ala.
- January 1980
- Mrs. Ione Tafelski
- San Diego, California
- April 4, 1980
- George C. Thomas
- Pomona, California
- March 1980
- James Thompson
- Doming, New Mexico
- February 1980
- Phillip Thurmond
- Bandon, Oregon
- January 1980
- Mrs. Hasbahe B. Tsosie
- Chinle, Arizona
- April 1980
- Mrs. Homayoun Vafadari
- Escondido, California
- April 12, 1980
- Mrs. Margaret Von Seeth
- Long Beach, Washington
- Date Unknown
- Rudolph White
- Bronx, New York
- March 1980
- Mrs. Roberta Whitehurst
- Roper, North Carolina
- Date Unknown
- Dr. Lawrence E. Wilkins
- Los Angeles, California
- February 24, 1980
- Hoskie Wilson
- Houck, Arizona
- Date Unknown
- Henry Worthington
- Greenville, North Carolina
- Date Unknown
- Zabihollah Zabibi-Moghadam
- Louisville, Kentucky
- Date Unknown
- Dariush Zarehzadeh
- New York, N.Y.
- Date Unknown
- Mrs. Alice Zemke
- San Diego, California
- Date Unknown
[Page 27]
PUBLISHING TRUST
Bahá’í Publishing Trust[edit]
| Consultation: A Compilation: NEW Booklet Designed to help groups, Local Spiritual Assemblies, and committees develop skills of consultation. Contains many previously untranslated passages from the Bahá’í writings that shed light on a subject of vital concern to all. Compiled by the Research Department of The Universal House of Justice. 23 pp. |
Paper 7-15-64 | $1.50 |
| Children’s Prayers Card: NEW Card Excellent teaching aid and gift for children, friends, and family. Attractively illustrated card featuring two of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s prayers for children: “O God, guide me” and “O God! Educate these children” (Bahá’í Prayers, Nos. 5, 8). A useful item for Universal Children’s Day. Easy to mail. |
7-03-25 | $.15 NET 10/$1.05 NET |
| The Seven Year Plan: NEW Booklet Your road map through 1986! Contains messages from The Universal House of Justice to the Bahá’ís of the World and of the United States, Naw-Rúz 1979, announcing the objectives of the fourth global teaching campaign. Also includes guidelines adopted by the National Spiritual Assembly outlining objectives for the execution of the first phase of the Seven Year Plan. Individuals, teachers, consolidation workers, and members of the various institutions of the Faith will want to have copies of these documents on hand at all times for reference and inspiration. |
Paper 7-15-65 | $1.50 |
| Seven Year Plan Update—Riḍván 1980: NEW Cassette Listen to the plans for the progress of the Faith in the United States. Hear the stirring words of Counselor Edna True, Judge Dorothy Nelson, Mr. Glenford E. Mitchell, and members of the National Spiritual Assembly praising the Bahá’í community for its efforts and urging the Bahá’ís on to greater love, unity, and victories in the teaching work and the consolidation of Bahá’í community life. Recorded at the 1980 National Convention. 90 minutes. |
6-31-65 | $6.50 |
| A Mysterious Power in This Cause/Írán: Crisis and Challenge: NEW Cassette Two inspiring talks on one tape for a very special personal, family, or community deepening. On one side of the cassette the Hand of the Cause of God Dhikr’ulláh Khádem, drawing on quotations from the Writings and stories of early Bahá’ís, speaks on the significance of Riḍván and the latent power available to the Bahá’í community. On the other side Counselor Dr. Iraj Ayman gives a moving account of the transformation of the believers in the Cradle of the Faith brought about by tests and difficulties during a year of crisis. 90 minutes. |
6-31-66 | $6.50 |
| Bahá’u’lláh: The King of Glory: NEW Book H. M. Balyuzi’s monumental biography of Bahá’u’lláh. Much of the story is taken from unpublished memoirs of Bahá’u’lláh’s companions, who themselves observed the events they describe. Includes details of Bahá’u’lláh’s ancestry and family that were hitherto generally unavailable. Profusely illustrated with more than 100 photographs. 544 pp., index, maps. |
Cloth 7-32-47 | $22.50 NET |
| One World, One People: NEW Pamphlet For UN and Human Rights Day proclamations. |
7-40-99 | 10/$1.60 25/$3.20 100/$11.50 |
| Stories from the Delight of Hearts: The Memoirs of Ḥájí Mírzá Ḥaydar-‘Alí: NEW Book Learn about the fascinating life story of one who braved the persecutions of family, friends, and fellow-countrymen to embrace the Bábí Faith. Ḥájí Mírzá Ḥaydar-‘Alí’s commitment to the new religion finally took him to the Holy Land, where he attained the presence of Bahá’u’lláh. Translated and abridged by the Hand of the Cause of God A. Q. Faizi. 163 pp., notes. |
Cloth 7-31-98 | $8.95 NET |
| Clementine and the Cage: NEW Children’s Book For 7-9 year olds. A fable of a bird who goes beyond the squabbling and limited vision of other birds. Text by Wendy Heller. Illustrations by Rex J. Irvine. Published by Kalimát Press. 11 x 8½ inches. 32 pp. |
Cloth 7-52-74 | $7.95 NET |
| The Story As Told: Revised Edition Jalil Mahmoudi’s poetic presentation of the concept of progressive revelation including quotations from many of the world’s scriptures. Attractively illustrated by Russell Roberts. Published by Kalimát Press. 64 pp. |
Paper 7-32-24 | $8.95 NET |
| Wildflower Card with envelope: NEW Card Full-color photograph, gold stamped with “Thy name is my healing, O my God.” The prayer of Bahá’u’lláh concludes inside the card. Pack of ten. |
6-48-80 | $4.50 |
| Waterfall Card with envelope: NEW Card Full-color reproduction of a waterfall in a forest setting, gold stamped with “O God, refresh and gladden my spirit.” The prayer of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá is concluded inside the card. Pack of ten. |
6-48-81 | $4.50 |
| Celebration Card with envelope: NEW Card Bright watercolor depicting children of different races and cultures preparing for a party with the message, “The earth is but one country, and mankind its citizens. A special message for you on this happy occasion.” Pack of ten. |
6-48-82 | $4.50 |
Green Acre School sets busy summer schedule[edit]
A full schedule of summer events is scheduled at the Green Acre Bahá’í School in Eliot, Maine, culminating August 30-September 1 in the Green Acre “Unity in Diversity” Festival.
The complete schedule:
July 12-13: Marian Lippitt, “Worlds of God.”
July 14-18: Auxiliary Board member Sam McClellan; Janice Talamantes, “Children and Youth in the Bahá’í Community”; Virginia Schwacker, “The Universal House of Justice.”
July 19-20: Randy and Melinda Armstrong, Roy and Anna Nash, “The Spiritually Grounded Family.”
July 21-25: Auxiliary Board member Katherine McLaughlin; Aaron and Barbara Fowlkes, “World Citizenship”; Bob and Mary Hatcher, “The Meaning of Deepening.”
July 26-27: Using the Media to Proclaim the Faith.
July 28-August 1: Dr. A.M. Ghadirian, “Tests and Difficulties”; Kurt Hein, “The Mystery of Sacrifice”; Jane Grover, “From Gnats to Eagles.”
August 2-3: Behzad Zandieh, “Keys to Teaching: the Power of the Covenant and the Spirit of the Faith.”
August 4-8: June Remignanti, “God and His Manifestations”; Juana Conrad, “The Greatest Holy Leaf”; Dr. Ann Schoonmaker, “The Loving Community.”
August 9-10: Ann Carpenter, “The Pupil of the Eye.”
August 11-15: Dr. William Hatcher, “The Science of Religion”; Bill and Zarrin-Taj Foster, “The Dispensation of Bahá’u’lláh”; George and Nina Karamallis, “Life and Works of the Guardian.”
August 16-17: Dr. Hossein Danesh, “Bahá’í Marriage.”
August 18-22: Dr. Susan Theroux, “Moral and Spiritual Growth”; Bruce Whitmore, “The Dawning Place”; Jose Cortez, “The Bahá’í Community.”
August 23-24: Auxiliary Board member Javidukht Khadem.
August 25-29: Auxiliary Board member Robert Harris; Mildred Mottahedeh, “The New Race of Men”; Ramin Khadem, “The New World Order.”
August 30-September 1: Green Acre Unity in Diversity Festival; presentations by the International Goals Committee, Spanish Teaching Committee, Asian Teaching Committee.
‘Work weekend’ cleans Bosch[edit]
Approximately 35 people from communities within a 100-mile radius of the Bosch Bahá’í School in Santa Cruz, California, participated in a “work weekend” at the school April 12-13.
Repairing, painting, landscaping, building and cleaning assignments are undertaken by volunteers who participate in these work weekends, held about six times each year.
Each volunteer worker puts in 10 to 15 hours during the weekend, according to school administrator James Kelly.
Each weekend of volunteer work there represents a savings to the National Fund of about $1,000 to $1,200, he says, basing his calculation on a pay rate of $5 an hour for 25 volunteers each working for 12 hours.
The savings calculation includes deductions for the cost of the volunteers’ food and housing.
Work weekend participants are chosen from interest cards they have filled out on previous visits to the Bosch school. They are invited to participate in a work weekend when their help is needed.
Several people volunteered considerable time last year, says Mr. Kelly, to help remodel a 500-square-foot building into an office.
The cost of the project, he says, was between $30 and $45 less per square foot than it would have been had the job been given to a commercial contractor.
Cracks in the pool deck at the Bosch Bahá’í School are repaired by volunteer workers (left to right) Ken Allen of Menlo Park, California; John Williams, of Aptos, California; and James Matthews of Manteca, California, during Bosch’s ‘work weekend’ April 12-13.
Phil Park of Campbell, California, washes windows in the lodge during the Bosch Bahá’í School’s ‘work weekend’ April 12-13.
11 seekers attend Morgantown meet[edit]
Eleven seekers joined 11 Bahá’ís and one Bahá’í child March 22 at Morgantown, West Virginia’s first public meeting of the New Year.
The speaker was Dr. Rodney L. Belcher, a Bahá’í who is an orthopedic surgeon from Washington, D.C. Dr. Belcher presented slides of his pioneering trip to Tanzania and spoke of his years as a surgeon.
Several students from Tanzania were among those attending the meeting. Afterward, they said they were most happy to see such fine photos of their homeland.
One woman, who had not heard of the Faith until 30 minutes before the meeting, became quite interested, and indicated she would like to attend firesides to hear more.
Race Unity Committee structures plans designed to address ‘most challenging issue’[edit]
In appointing a new Race Unity Committee for the U.S., the National Spiritual Assembly instructed the committee to “identify the trends in race relations, within and without the Bahá’í community, and to recommend ... the actions to be taken and programs to be adopted by the Bahá’í community to meet the insistent challenge of racial prejudice.”
The Race Unity Committee has responded to that mandate with a six-year program designed to address the issues raised by the National Assembly.
THE FIRST YEAR of the program has been designated the “Year of Awareness.”
One of the components in that first year is a series of individual and community deepening programs that is now being prepared.
The Race Unity Committee hopes that these programs will serve to raise the general level of awareness of these vital issues, and is asking the U.S. Bahá’í community for its help and cooperation with the project.
Another important part of the program is a page devoted to racial unity in each issue of The American Bahá’í, beginning in August 1980.
The Race Unity page will include several regular features, such as:
• Interact, a forum for ideas to promote racial unity, interesting case studies on that theme, inspirational real life stories, ideas for community activities, accounts of the bounties of community diversity, etc.
• Your Turn, a forum for contributions from readers on subjects relating to the “most challenging issue” of race unity, and for comments on items printed each month on this page.
• From the Writings, quotations of an inspirational nature on race unity.
• Other features such as book reviews, resource lists for materials relating to the theme of racial unity, contests, photos, etc.
The committee asks for your help in making this an effective page through your contributions to it.
Individuals and communities are invited to contribute to the page now. Send contributions to the Race Unity Committee, c/o Ernest Lopez, secretary, 112 Linden Avenue, Wilmette, IL 60091.
Children and youth are especially welcome to contribute. Be sure to include your name and address (and your age, if you are a child).
