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Large Deficit Still Threatens National Fund
This climactic year of the World Crusade threatens, at the time this is written (March 1), to run up our largest deficit in recent Bahá’í history. Great demands have been made upon the American Bahá’í community, inevitable at such a never-to-be-repeated period for fulfilling the last specific goals ever to be assigned to us by our beloved Guardian. Our budget for the year, unanimously adopted at the last National Convention, was $625,000, an increase of $75,000 from the previous year, which in turn was up $50,000 from the year before that. This is growth with a vengeance, and so far it has proven a little too much to handle.
There is some encouragement in the trend of regular contributions, which averaged only $25,518 per month for the first five months, but picked up to $34,512 for the second five months. Special non-recurring contributions, on the other hand, showed a declining trend, averaging $8,761 for the first five months, but only $6,343 for the second five months, which is undoubtedly due to the steep drop in the stock market in the spring of 1962.
The emphasis on proclamation has resulted in a step-up of expenses on the local level, which may have kept some contributions from the National Fund. (However, it is interesting to note that of the local assemblies which were spearheads for major proclamation efforts only two had materially reduced their national contribution during the first eight months over the previous year.) Saving for the trip to the World Congress may have deflected some donations, though we trust these are minor in extent.
As of March 1, 1963, the cumulative totals of receipts are as follows:
Regular contributions . . . . ..$300,l44.00 Special contributions . . . . . . . . 75,519.00 Estates and Trusts . . . . . . . .. 75,165.00
$450,828.00 Pro-rata Budget . . . . . . . . . .. 520,840.00 Net Deficit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ..$ 70,012.00
Usually we do not include the payments from estates and trusts with our other income, for in a sense these are payments from capital and should not have to be used for current expenses. This year, however, we are so far behind that it is obvious we will have to use every penny that comes in to take care of urgent current needs, so it seemed more
realistic to include this figure in the schedule.
What does this deficit mean? It is a genuine deficit, for expenses are running very close to the budget. If it cannot be eliminated before the end of the fiscal year, it means that the reserve funds which were so laboriously accumulated will be substantially depleted. We will be starting a new era in Bahá’í history, not with a clean slate, but with a carry—over of obligations which somehow will have to be made up.
The National Spiritual Assembly does not believe that this will be permitted to go on. Too many wonderful things are happening in the Bahá’í world these days. There is too strong a spirit of progress and accomplishment abroad in the land. We are sure that this will be transmitted to the Fund, and that our national Bahá’í community will be given the financial sinew and muscle necessary to complete the Crusade goals, and to undertake the great challenges of growth which will undoubtedly characterize the tremendous era we are about to enter.
—NATIONAL SPIRITUAL ASSEMBLY Arthur L. Dahl, Treasurer
Bahá’í Laws Included
in Revised Publication
As reported in the U.S. SUPPLEMENT (No. 60) of February 1963, the National Spiritual Assembly is now sending to each newly enrolled Bahá’í a certficate of membership which expresses‘ a warm and loving welcome to the Bahá’í community. Enclosed for review and reference is a brief listing of the Bahá’í laws which are to be observed at the present time. One copy of this listing has been sent to each local spiritual assembly for its information.
In View of the numerous requests that are being received from assemblies, teaching committees and individuals for copies of these laws, the National Spiritual Assembly wishes to point out that all these laws and much other essential information for the American Bahá’ís are found in the new edition of The Bahá’í Community announced in the March edition of Bahá’í NEWS by the Bahá’í Publishing Trust. This publication, together with Your Experience as a Bahá’í, should be in the library of every Bahá’í and both should be thoroughly studied. Knowledge of the contents of these booklets will reduce the great number of problems on which both the National Assembly and the local assemblies are presently obliged to devote too much valuable time and correspondence.
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Information About Bequests
to the National Assembly
The Legal Committee of the National Spiritual Assembly reminds believers that Bahá’ís are directed to make a will and testament. When the Aqdas is codified, the matter will be fully explained. The Committee suggests the following points for consideration in making a will:
1. Consult an attorney who practices in the state where the will is most likely to be probated.
2. To provide a bequest for use by the National Bahá’í Assembly, describe the beneficiary in these terms: “The Trustees of the national Bahá’í administrative body, elected by the Bahá’ís of the United States, and known as National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís ‘of the United States, whose headquarters are located in the Village of Wilmette, County of Cook, Illinois.
3. Send a copy of the finished will to the National Spiritial Assembly for its files. This is advisable in order to assure proper carrying out of the testator’s wishes in regard to the Bahá’í bequest.
4. Believers, in making their wills, should give careful consideration to the carrying out of their desire to have a Bahá’í burial service. If there is any doubt whether the relatives would arrange for a Bahá’í service, instructions to have this done should be included in the will, thus making a Bahá’í service a legal obligation upon the non-Bahá’í family or executor. Attention is also directed to the Guardian’s instruction that, in accordance with the law of the Aqdas, a body should not be transported more than one hour’s journey from place of death to place of interment.
If you have reason to believe that burial might take place before the will is read, you can take the following measures: (a) give your assembly a written request for a Bahá’í funeral; (b) a signed copy of a statement by‘ yourself that you desire a Bahá’í funeral can be carried in purse or handbag; (c) make certain that your assembly understands how to conduct a Bahá’í funeral service.
—Li-:c:AL COMMITTEE or THE NATIONAL SPIRITUAL ASSEMBLY
Post-Congress Conferences Scheduled for May
In the December (No. 58) U.S. SUPPLEMENT the National Spiritual Assembly announced its plans for sponsoring a nation-wide series of post-Congress gatherings on May 26 at which the Bahá’ís who have returned from the celebration of the Most Great Jubilee in London will share with their fellow believers, members of their families and friends as much as possible of the spirit and program of that great historic event.
Listed here are the localities where these gatherings will be held. Some minor changes may be made, hence it is important to watch the area bulletins and the next issue of the SUPPLEMENT for changes and additional details.
APRIL ‘1963
As stated in the preliminary announcement, the host communities are urged to plan for a public meeting the evening preceding the conference, but in those areas where the friends must travel long distances to attend even the nearest gathering the National Assembly has suggested that the conference be held Saturday (May 25) afternoon and/or evening and Sunday morning.
All believers who attended the Jubilee are requested to make every possible effort to be present at the nearest conference so that they may share the bounties they received with their fellow Bahá’ís who, for one reason or another, were deprived of these rich experiences.
Locations for Post-Congress Conferences
Birmingham, Ala. Phoenix, Ari7.. Fresno, Calif. Geyserville Bahá’í School, Calif. La Mesa, Calif. Los Angeles, Calif. San Jose, Calif. Colorado Springs, Colo. New Haven, Conn. Washington, D.C.
Kansas City, Mo.
St. Louis, Mo. Helena, Mont.
West Englewood, N.J. Albuquerque, N. Mex. Buffalo, N.Y.
New York, N.Y. Greensboro, N.C. Cincinnati, Ohio Cleveland, Ohio Pendleton, Ore.
Miami, Fla. Salem, Ore. Sarasota, Fla. Philadelphia, Pa. Atlanta, Ga. Sioux Falls, S.D.
Honolulu, Hawaii Boise, Idaho
Nashville, Tenn. Dallas, Texas
Urbana, Ill. San Antonio, Texas Wilmette, Ill. (Temple) Salt Lake City, Utah Kokomo, Ind. Seattle, Wash.
New Orleans, La. Boston, Mass. Ann Arbor, Mich. St. Paul, Minn.
Madison, Wis.
Casper, Wyo.
Some locality on Navajo Reservation
Plan Now for
Race Amity Day
January 1, 1963, marked the one hundredth anniversary of Abraham Lincoln’s proclamation freeing from slavery approximately three million Negroes in the so-called southern states. This year also being the hundredth anniversary of the Revelation of Bahá’u’lláh, it is appropriate that our annual observance of Race Amity Day, June 9, should give recognition to both of these historic events.
At the request of the National Spiritual Assembly, the Bahá’í Interracial Service Committee has made the following suggestions for this occasion, but each community is free to plan picnics, conferences, or whatever activities it considers most effective in proclaiming and demonstrating the Bahá’í principle and belief in the oneness of mankind.
1. A public meeting with two or more speakers, one of whom should be a non-Bahá’í Negro invited to review the hundred years of progress among the Negroes since the Emancipation Proclamation in
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U.S. SUPPLEMENT
America, and the closing speaker (a Bahá’í) who will discuss the hundred years of progress and advancement in the Bahá’í Faith since the Revelation of Bahá’u’lláh.
2. A follow-up meeting designed particularly for Negro contacts to meet and socialize with the believers. This could very well takethe form of the Short Course in Human Relations which, since February 1962, all Bahá’í communities have been urged to sponsor.
3. Follow-up firesides in a Bahá’í center or in the private homes of believers planned especially for the new Negro contacts developed at the public meetings.
The interracial pattern of living as practiced by the Bahá’ís should be demonstrated in every panel, in every public program, and on informal levels such as individually planned social gatherings.
As usual the central theme for the whole series of events should be “Man: One Family,” but for the public meeting the speakers might well address themselves to the subject: “The Emancipation Proclamation in America—— Echoes of the Bahá’í Proclamation of the Oneness of Mankind.”
Slogans for advertisements might be: “One Godone World — One Religion — One People,” or “Bahá’í Faith Proclaims Unity in Diversity."
New Teaching Aid Offered
Aids for Teaching the Bahá’í Faith, compiled by Mrs. Margery McCormick, and illustrated by William Musler, is now available from the Bahá’í Distribution and Service Department of the National Spiritual Assembly, 112 Linden Avenue, Wilmette, Illinois, at 75 cents per copy. The purpose of this compilation is to aid the individual believer to make a graphic presentation of some of the basic and historical facts of the Faith to the individual he is teaching, and to make it easy for the student or seeker to fix these facts in his mind by examining the illustrations which accompany the written material.
Requests for this compilation should be accompanied by cash. Do not include orders for them in items being ordered from the Bahá’í Publishing Trust.
WORLD CRUSADE BUDGET
Tenth Year: |962- I 963
ANNUAL BUDGET . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $625,000.00
||||||||l|||||||l||||llllllllIlllllllllllllIlllll|l|||||l||||||||I||l|||l|||||II|l||||IllI||||||Ill||l||||llIll||||IIIIll||||l|lllllllllllllllllllllllll Total Requirements: May 1 to February 28 . .. 520,840.00 |||Ill|||||l|||l|l||l|||||l|ll|||ll|I|l||IllIIIIllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllI|||l||||||||||l|||||||l|||l|l
Total Contributions: May 1 to February 28 375,662.27 ll||||IIll||||llI||l|l|IIll||||||IIIIll||||llIllIllllllllIlllllllllllllllllllllll
Deficit to February 28 . . . . . . . . . , . . . . . , . . . . . . .. 145,177.73
(These figures do not include estate and trust funds.)
ln Memoriam
Mrs. Mattie Russell Allen Port Orford, Oregon February 8, 1963
Mrs. Florence Cromwell Wellington, Kansas January 29, 1963
Mrs. Mathilde Carlson Kenosha, Wisconsin January 21, 1963
Mrs. Nettie J. LaPrade Adrian, Michigan February 2, 1963
George W. Chamberlain Chicago, Illinois February 8, 1963
Dr. Isabel Maekerkacker Kansas City, Missouri December 1962
Mrs. Emma Nelson Richmond, Calif. January 16, 1963
Ray Chavis Danville, Illinois August 21, 1962
Special Credenl-ials for Jubilee
NO ONE will be admitted to Albert Hall in London without a book of tickets and special attached credentials. All believers going by charter flight will automatically receive theirs before leaving. Bahá’ís making their own travel arrangements must notify the National Spiritual Assembly immediately in order to be provided with these important credentials.
Bahá’í Marriages Flagstaff, Arizona: Miss Barbara Ann Bryant to William V. Latham, Jr. on January 19, 1963
Los Angeles, Calif.: Miss Jaleh Roshan to Robert Fred Brunst on January 26, 1963
Palo Alto, Calif.: Mrs. Barbara Merrill to D'Arcy Shouldice on June 10, 1962
San Diego, Calif: Miss Margaret E. Blanchette to Melvin P. Chester 11 on January 6, 1963
Chicago, Illinois: Mrs. Geraldine Barber to Emmanuel D. Ankrah on January 26, 1963
Detroit, Michigan: Miss Louhelen Elizabeth Eggleston to Charles Brewster Hassan on January 19, 1963
Reno, Nevada: Miss Emily Belyea to John G. Martino on January 22, 1963
Eugene, Oregon: Miss Joan L. Weston to Alan D. Cannon on January 28, 1963
Address for Press Clippings
Attention is again called to the request that all newspaper clippings be sent to the National Bahá’í Headquarters, 112 Linden Avenue, Wilmette, Illinois.
There is now no office at 121 Linden Avenue, nor is there a Bahá’í Press Service.
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APRIL 1963
BAHA'I SUMMER SCHOOL COMMITTEES 1962-1963
Davison Bahá’í School Program Committee Mrs. Gail Curwin, Chairman . Mrs. Shirley Baldwin, Secretary. 1615 Woodlawn, Royal Oak, Michigan
Geyserville Bahá’í School Program Committee
Mr. Richard Groger, Chairman Mrs. Helena Bascom, Secretary, 43364 Montrose St., Fremont. Calif.
Green Acre Bahá’í Institute Program Committee
(to correct error in address) Mrs. Mildred McClellan, Secretary, 95 Avon Hill St., Cambridge, Mass.
lntermountain Bahá’í Summer School Committee
Mrs. Beverly Anderson, Secretary, 746 S. 9th Ave., Pocatello, Idaho
Mrs. Eleanor Conkling
Mrs. Dorothy Henderson
Mr. Orian Henderson
Mr. Arthur L. Krummell
Mr. A. Keith Anderson Mr. Shamsedclin Afnan Mrs. Mickey Afnan Mr. John Rogers
Mrs. Ruth Rogers
Rocky Mountain Bahá’í Summer School Committee
Mr. Walter L. Jensen, Chairman Mrs. Gladys Roberts, Secretary, 915 N. Hancock Ave., Colorado Springs, Colo.
Mrs. Mary Creitz
Miss Barbara Roberts
Mrs. Mary Johnson
Mr. Tyndall O. Morrill
Mrs. Esther Morrill
Dr. Lois Abas
Dr. Julian Abas
Mr. Alvis G. Hale, Jr.
Southwestern Bahá’í School Program Committee
Mrs. Joanne Menking, Secretary, 3521 Rankin Ave., Dallas 5, Texas
BAHA'| DIRECTORY CHANGES
ASSEMBLY SECRETARIES
Northern California
Redding: Mrs. Viviana Lisota. 910 Sierra Vista Dr. (formed 3/3/63)
Southern California District #1
Glendale Jud. Dist.: Mrs. Sarah Smith, 4836 LaCanada B1vd., LaCanada Monrovia: Mrs. Betty Soto, 821 S. Ivy
Southern California District #2
National City: Mrs. Erma Haukedahl, 1923 E. 24th St. (formed 2/24/63)
Louisiana Baton Rouge: Mrs. Mary Perkins, 1019 America St.
Minnesota Olmsted County: Mrs. Norma Wharton, Rt. 4, Rochester (formed 1/26/63)
St. Paul: Mrs. Voroth Degeberg. 1009 N. Milton St., Z 3
Western Washington Longview: Mr. Laurence Schneider, 1058 - 8th Ave. North King County Comm. Dist.: Mrs. Cleta Ware, pro-tem, 1118 NE. 170th, Seattle 55
ADDITIONS TO COMMITTEE
Area Teaching Committee—Gulf States
Mr. George Rice Mrs. Bernice Ward
RESIGNATIONS FROM COMMITTEES
Temple Guides Mr. P. R. Meinhard
Service For the Blind Mr. Robert Hart
Area Teaching Committee—South Central States Mr. Arthur Keith Schulte
Davison Bahá’í School Committee Mr. Donald Streets
