8 February 2013 & 1 May - The Universal House of Justice, convocation of 95 youth conferences

THE UNIVERSAL HOUSE OF JUSTICE

8 February 2013

To the Baha'is of the World

Dearly loved Friends,

Within communities of every size and strength, we are glad to see the processes of the Five Year Plan kindling the spirit of service and stimulating purposeful action. Examples appear every day of how the act of reaching out to touch individual hearts, acquainting souls with the Word of God, and inviting them to contribute to the betterment of society can, in time, tend to the advancement of a people. This collective movement becomes discernible when the Plan's elements are combined into a well-coordinated cluster-wide effort, the dynamics of which are becoming increasingly familiar. Such a cluster becomes the setting for experienced believers as much as those newly introduced to the Faith, whatever their age or background, to work side by side, accompanying one another in their service, enabling everyone to participate in the unfoldment of the Plan.

From the panorama of the Baha'i world engaged in earnest activity, one phenomenon strikes us especially: the decisive contribution made by youth on every continent. In this phenomenon we see the vindication of the hopes the beloved Guardian invested in them "for the future progress and expansion of the Cause" and of the confidence with which he laid upon their shoulders "all the responsibility for the upkeep of the spirit of selfless service among their fellow-believers". We are struck, too, by the number of youth who, after only a brief association with the Baha'i community, commit themselves to meaningful acts of service and quickly discover their affinity with the Faith's community-building endeavour. Indeed, in contemplating both the Baha'i youth and their like-minded peers, we cannot but rejoice at their eagerness to take on a measure of responsibility to aid the spiritual and social development of those around them, especially ones younger than themselves. In an age consumed by self-interest, in which even spiritual affiliation is weighed in the scales of reward and personal satisfaction, it is heartening to encounter individuals from their mid-teens to their twenties- -those upon whom the sights of an aggressive materialism are decidedly trained--who are galvanized by the vision of Baha'u'llah and are ready to put the needs of others before their own. That such high-minded youth, by dint of their own exertions as well as the momentum they lend to the whole community, should be contributing so effectively to efforts everywhere under way bodes well for the anticipated acceleration of these efforts.

What has been accomplished in the past two years will, surely, be far surpassed, not just in the concluding years of this present Plan but in the remaining years of the first century of the Formative Age. To spur on this mighty enterprise and to summon today's youth to fully assume the responsibilities they must discharge in this fast-contracting interval, we announce the convocation of 95 youth conferences, between July and October, planned for locations that span the globe: Accra, Addis Ababa, Aguascalientes, Almaty, Antananarivo, Apia, Atlanta, Auckland, Baku, Bangalore, Bangui, Bardiya, Battambang, Bhopal, Bhubaneswar, Boston, Brasilia, Bridgetown, Bukavu, Cali, Canoas, Cartagena de Indias, Chennai, Chibombo, Chicago, Chisinau, Cochabamba, Daidanaw, Dakar, Dallas, Danane, Dar es Salaam, Dhaka, Dnipropetrovsk, Durham (United States), Frankfurt, Guwahati, Helsinki, Istanbul (2), Jakarta, Johannesburg, Kadugannawa, Kampala, Kananga, Karachi, Khujand, Kinshasa, Kolkata, Kuching, Lae, Lima, London, Lubumbashi, Lucknow, Macau, Madrid, Manila, Matunda Soy, Moscow, Mwinilunga, Mzuzu, Nadi, Nairobi, New Delhi, Oakland, Otavalo, Ouagadougou, Panchgani, Paris, Patna, Perth, Phoenix, Port-au-Prince, Port Dickson, Port Moresby, Port-Vila, San Diego, San Jose (Costa Rica), San Jose City (Philippines), San Salvador, Santiago, Sapele, Sarh, Seberang Perai, South Tarawa, Sydney, Tbilisi, Thyolo, Tirana, Toronto, Ulaanbaatar, Vancouver, Verona, Yaounde. We extend an invitation to these gatherings to every youth who recognizes in the methods and instruments of the Plan potent means for movement towards a better society. And from Baha'is of all ages, we invite wholehearted support for the participants upon whose efforts so much depends.

Beloved friends: To every generation of young believers comes an opportunity to make a contribution to the fortunes of humanity, unique to their time of life. For the present generation, the moment has come to reflect, to commit, to steel themselves for a life of service from which blessing will flow in abundance. In our prayers at the Sacred Threshold, we entreat the Ancient Beauty that, from out a distracted and bewildered humanity, He may distil pure souls endowed with clear sight: youth whose integrity and uprightness are not undermined by dwelling on the faults of others and who are not immobilized by any shortcomings of their own; youth who will look to the Master and "bring those who have been excluded into the circle of intimate friends"; youth whose consciousness of the failings of society impels them to work for its transformation, not to distance themselves from it; youth who, whatever the cost, will refuse to pass by inequity in its many incarnations and will labour, instead, that "the light of justice may shed its radiance upon the whole world."

[signed: The Universal House of Justice]

THE UNIVERSAL HOUSE OF JUSTICE

1 May 2013

To the Baha'is of the World

Dearly loved Friends,

So overwhelming has been the response of the Baha'i youth and their friends—indeed, of Baha'i communities worldwide—to the announcement of 95 conferences to be convened around the world between July and October, that existing arrangements now seem unlikely to accommodate the number of youth wishing to attend, and it is apparent that a further complement of gatherings is therefore required. With great joy, we take this opportunity, when the members of National Spiritual Assemblies are gathered in consultation at the Eleventh International Baha'i Convention, to announce today our decision to convene an additional 19 conferences in the following locations: Bertoua, Bidor, Biratnagar, Brisbane, Cagayan de Oro, Georgetown (Guyana), Houston, Kampong Thom, Kigoma, Los Angeles, Mahikeng, Milne Bay, Minneapolis, Montreal, Nuku'alofa, Nundu (Democratic Republic of the Congo), Seattle, Vientiane, and Washington, D.C.

This welcome development is indicative of the magnitude of the reservoirs of energy and devotion that the youth possess. Every effort must be made to assist them to continue to act on their responsibilities, and we look to them to expand the horizons of what the Baha'i community can accomplish. We offer thanks to the Blessed Beauty for endowing His youthful followers with an immense collective capacity for service, and we beseech Him that it might be realized in benefit to humankind.


[signed: The Universal House of Justice] 

Ridván 2012 - The Universal House of Justice

THE UNIVERSAL HOUSE OF JUSTICE

Ridván 2012

To the Baha'is of the World

Dearly loved Friends, 

Midafternoon on the eleventh day of the Ridvan festival one hundred years ago, 'Abdu'l-Baha, standing before an audience several hundred strong, lifted a workman's axe and pierced the turf covering the Temple site at Grosse Pointe, north of Chicago. Those invited to break the ground with Him on that spring day came from diverse backgrounds--Norwegian, Indian, French, Japanese, Persian, indigenous American, to name but a few. It was as if the House of Worship, yet unbuilt, was fulfilling the wishes of the Master, expressed on the eve of the ceremony, for every such edifice: "that humanity might find a place of meeting" and "that the proclamation of the oneness of mankind shall go forth from its open courts of holiness".

His listeners on that occasion, and all who heard Him in the course of His travels to Egypt and the West, must have but dimly comprehended the far- reaching implications of His words for society, for its values and preoccupations. Still today, can anyone claim to have glimpsed anything but an intimation, distant and indistinct, of the future society to which the Revelation of Baha'u'llah is destined to give rise? For let none suppose that the civilization towards which the divine teachings impel humankind will follow merely from adjustments to the present order. Far from it. In a talk delivered some days after He laid the cornerstone of the Mother Temple of the West, 'Abdu'l-Baha stated that "among the results of the manifestation of spiritual forces will be that the human world will adapt itself to a new social form," that "the justice of God will become manifest throughout human affairs". These, and countless other utterances of the Master to which the Baha'i community is turning time and again in this centennial period, raise awareness of the distance that separates society as it is now arranged from the stupendous vision His Father gifted to the world.

Alas, notwithstanding the laudable efforts, in every land, of well- intentioned individuals working to improve circumstances in society, the obstacles preventing the realization of such a vision seem insurmountable to many. Their hopes founder on erroneous assumptions about human nature that so permeate the structures and traditions of much of present-day living as to have attained the status of established fact. These assumptions appear to make no allowance for the extraordinary reservoir of spiritual potential available to any illumined soul who draws upon it; instead, they rely for justification on humanity's failings, examples of which daily reinforce a common sense of despair. A layered veil of false premises thus obscures a fundamental truth: The state of the world reflects a distortion of the human spirit, not its essential nature. The purpose of every Manifestation of God is to effect a transformation in both the inner life and external conditions of humanity. And this transformation naturally occurs as a growing body of people, united by the divine precepts, collectively seeks to develop spiritual capacities to contribute to a process of societal change. Akin to the hard earth struck by the Master a century ago, the prevailing theories of the age may, at first, seem impervious to alteration, but they will undoubtedly fade away, and through the "vernal showers of the bounty of God", the "flowers of true understanding" will spring up fresh and fair.

We yield thanks to God that, through the potency of His Word, you--the community of His Greatest Name--are cultivating environments wherein true understanding can blossom. Even those enduring imprisonment for the Faith are, by their untold sacrifice and steadfastness, enabling the "hyacinths of knowledge and wisdom" to flower in sympathetic hearts. Across the globe, eager souls are being engaged in the work of constructing a new world through the systematic implementation of the provisions of the Five Year Plan. So well have its features been grasped that we feel no need to comment further on them here. Our supplications, offered at the Threshold of an All-Bountiful Providence, are for the assistance of the Supreme Concourse to be vouchsafed to every one of you in contributing to the progress of the Plan. Our fervent desire, bolstered by witnessing your consecrated efforts during the past year, is that you will intensify your sure-footed application of the knowledge you are acquiring through experience. Now is not the time to hold back; too many remain unaware of the new dawn. Who but you can convey the divine message? "By God," Baha'u'llah, referring to the Cause, affirms, "this is the arena of insight and detachment, of vision and upliftment, where none may spur on their chargers save the valiant horsemen of the Merciful, who have severed all attachment to the world of being."

To observe the Baha'i world at work is to behold a vista bright indeed. In the life of the individual believer who desires, above all, to invite others into communion with the Creator and to render service to humanity can be found signs of the spiritual transformation intended for every soul by the Lord of the Age. In the spirit animating the activities of any Baha'i community dedicated to enhancing the capacity of its members young and old, as well as of its friends and collaborators, to serve the common weal can be perceived an indication of how a society founded upon divine teachings might develop. And in those advanced clusters where activity governed by the framework of the Plan is in abundance and the demands of ensuring coherence amongst lines of action are most pressing, the evolving administrative structures offer glimmerings, however faint, of how the institutions of the Faith will incrementally come to assume a fuller range of their responsibilities to promote human welfare and progress. Clearly, then, the development of the individual, the community, and the institutions holds immense promise. But beyond this, we note with particular joy how the relationships binding these three are marked by such tender affection and mutual support.

By contrast, relations among the three corresponding actors in the world at large--the citizen, the body politic, and the institutions of society-- reflect the discord that characterizes humanity's turbulent stage of transition. Unwilling to act as interdependent parts of an organic whole, they are locked in a struggle for power which ultimately proves futile. How very different the society which 'Abdu'l-Baha, in unnumbered Tablets and talks, depicts--where everyday interactions, as much as the relations of states, are shaped by consciousness of the oneness of humankind. Relationships imbued with this consciousness are being cultivated by Baha'is and their friends in villages and neighbourhoods across the world; from them can be detected the pure fragrances of reciprocity and cooperation, of concord and love. Within such unassuming settings, a visible alternative to society's familiar strife is emerging. So it becomes apparent that the individual who wishes to exercise self-expression responsibly participates thoughtfully in consultation devoted to the common good and spurns the temptation to insist on personal opinion; a Baha'i institution, appreciating the need for coordinated action channelled toward fruitful ends, aims not to control but to nurture and encourage; the community that is to take charge of its own development recognizes an invaluable asset in the unity afforded through whole-hearted engagement in the plans devised by the institutions. Under the influence of Baha'u'llah's Revelation, the relationships among these three are being endowed with new warmth, new life; in aggregate, they constitute a matrix within which a world spiritual civilization, bearing the imprint of divine inspiration, gradually matures.

The light of the Revelation is destined to illumine every sphere of endeavour; in each, the relationships that sustain society are to be recast; in each, the world seeks examples of how human beings should be to one another. We offer for your consideration, given its conspicuous part in generating the ferment in which so many people have recently been embroiled, the economic life of humanity, where injustice is tolerated with indifference and disproportionate gain is regarded as the emblem of success. So deeply entrenched are such pernicious attitudes that it is hard to imagine how any one individual can alone alter the prevailing standards by which the relationships in this domain are governed. Nevertheless, there are certainly practices a Baha'i would eschew, such as dishonesty in one's transactions or the economic exploitation of others. Faithful adherence to the divine admonitions demands there be no contradiction between one's economic conduct and one's beliefs as a Baha'i. By applying in one's life those principles of the Faith that relate to fairness and equity, a single soul can uphold a standard far above the low threshold by which the world measures itself. Humanity is weary for want of a pattern of life to which to aspire; we look to you to foster communities whose ways will give hope to the world.

In our Ridvan message of 2001, we indicated that in countries where the process of entry by troops was sufficiently well advanced and conditions in national communities were favourable, we would approve the establishment of Houses of Worship at the national level, whose emergence would become a feature of the Fifth Epoch of the Formative Age of the Faith. With exceeding joy we now announce that national Mashriqu'l-Adhkars are to be raised up in two countries: the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Papua New Guinea. In these, the criteria we set are demonstrably met, and the response of their peoples to the possibilities created by the current series of Plans has been nothing short of remarkable. With the construction of the last of the continental temples in Santiago under way, the initiation of projects for building national Houses of Worship offers yet another gratifying evidence of the penetration of the Faith of God into the soil of society.

One more step is possible. The Mashriqu'l-Adhkar, described by 'Abdu'l- Baha as "one of the most vital institutions of the world", weds two essential, inseparable aspects of Baha'i life: worship and service. The union of these two is also reflected in the coherence that exists among the community-building features of the Plan, particularly the burgeoning of a devotional spirit that finds expression in gatherings for prayer and an educational process that builds capacity for service to humanity. The correlation of worship and service is especially pronounced in those clusters around the world where Baha'i communities have significantly grown in size and vitality, and where engagement in social action is apparent. Some of these have been designated as sites for the dissemination of learning so as to nurture the friends' ability to advance the junior youth programme in associated regions. The capacity to sustain this programme, as we have recently indicated, also fuels the development of study circles and children's classes. Thus, beyond its primary purpose, the learning site fortifies the entire scheme of expansion and consolidation. It is within these clusters that, in the coming years, the emergence of a local Mashriqu'l-Adhkar can be contemplated. Our hearts brimming with thankfulness to the Ancient Beauty, we rejoice to inform you that we are entering into consultations with respective National Spiritual Assemblies regarding the erection of the first local House of Worship in each of the following clusters: Battambang, Cambodia; Bihar Sharif, India; Matunda Soy, Kenya; Norte del Cauca, Colombia; and Tanna, Vanuatu.

To support the construction of the two national and five local Mashriqu'l-Adhkars, we have decided to establish a Temples Fund at the Baha'i World Centre for the benefit of all such projects. The friends everywhere are invited to contribute to it sacrificially, as their means allow.

Beloved co-workers: The ground broken by the hand of 'Abdu'l-Baha a hundred years ago is to be broken again in seven more countries, this being but the prelude to the day when within every city and village, in obedience to the bidding of Baha'u'llah, a building is upraised for the worship of the Lord. From these Dawning-Points of the Remembrance of God will shine the rays of His light and peal out the anthems of His praise.

[signed: The Universal House of Justice]

23 May 2011 - The Universal House of Justice, role of pioneers in the Five Year Plan

The Universal House of Justice

23 May 2011

To the Baha'is of the World

Dearly loved Friends,

Our message dated 28 December 2010 to the Conference of the Continental Boards of Counsellors briefly described the process of growth which begins to unfold in a cluster, frequently as the result of a single homefront pioneer entering into meaningful conversation with local residents.  We also indicated that more advanced clusters, in which the pattern of action associated with an intensive programme of growth has been firmly established, will often serve as reservoirs of pioneers who can be dispatched to other clusters, especially on the home front--in some to initiate a systematic approach to sharing Baha'u'llah's teachings and in others to strengthen the processes of expansion and consolidation that have already been established.  There is no doubt that the movement of pioneers remains an indispensable feature of the spiritual enterprise in which the community of the Most Great Name is engaged.

During the Five Year Plan recently concluded, over 3,500 international pioneers entered the arena of service to reinforce the work of the Faith in myriad ways across the globe.  At the same time, we were most pleased to see a surge in the movement of homefront pioneers, their numbers matching those who arose to serve in the international field and their sacrificial efforts making a distinctive contribution to the early attainment of the goal of the Plan.  In the next five years, the successful prosecution of the Plan will require the services of several thousand consecrated souls who, spurred on by their love for the Blessed Beauty, will forsake their homes to settle in villages, towns and cities in order to raise to 5,000 the number of clusters with programmes of growth.

National Spiritual Assemblies, in close collaboration with Continental Counsellors and Continental Pioneering Committees, will continue to play a crucial role in expanding the awareness of the believers about the critical needs of the Cause and in assisting with the settlement of pioneers in designated clusters.  They will not, however, be asked to establish numerical goals at the outset, as was the practice in the past, for those to be dispatched beyond their borders during the coming five years.  Rather, we will regularly call the attention of selected National Assemblies in different parts of the world to specific urgent pioneer needs, identified by the International Teaching Centre in the course of its ongoing endeavours to follow the progress of the Faith around the globe.  It is hoped that National Assemblies will then be able to quickly send pioneers who respond to that particular appeal.  In this regard, a promising pattern is developing in certain regions whereby believers arise to serve in a neighbouring country or in one that is further afield but within the same continent.  This development brings with it the advantage of a more intimate familiarity with the culture and language of the country in which they settle, thereby increasing their effectiveness and the efficiency with which their services can be utilized.

Beyond responding to the specific appeals for homefront and international pioneers that are issued from time to time by the institutions, the friends are of course welcome to arise at any time and from any place to settle in any area where they feel they can best contribute to the advancement of the Cause.  Even so, their endeavours would yield greater effect if, drawing on the advice of institutions, they were to direct their efforts to clusters--indeed, villages and neighbourhoods within clusters--that are the focus of systematic attention. 

It is our ardent hope that the believers will arise rank upon rank, with a clarity of vision born of experience and with complete reliance on the confirmations of God, to offer His life-giving Message to every eager soul, to every receptive population.  Our prayers at the Sacred Threshold will accompany them as they strive to seize the abundant opportunities now opening before them.


[signed:  The Universal House of Justice]

12 December 2011 - The Universal House of Justice, Further guidance on the implementation of institute courses

(Link to audio version found at end of this post)

The Universal House of Justice

12 December 2011

To all National Spiritual Assemblies

Dearly loved Friends,

Across the globe Baha'i communities are intently engaged in executing the provisions of the Five Year Plan.  Its opening months now behind us, there is every indication that the study of recent guidance and deliberations on the nature and extent of capacity developed thus far are bearing fruit in focused, highly unified action at the grassroots.  Principally through the efforts of homefront pioneers, in several hundred newly opened clusters, the first stirrings of a programme for the sustained expansion and consolidation of the Faith can already be felt, while in several hundred more, further along the continuum of growth, a pattern of rigorous activity is taking hold.  Meanwhile the friends in those clusters in the forefront of learning are gaining mastery over the dynamics that characterize rapidly expanding, relatively large communities.

In this connection, we are particularly happy to note the degree of effort being exerted in every country to lend an added measure of vitality to the institute process, so critical if increasing numbers are to participate actively in the work required to bring into reality a new World Order.  The operation of the institute board; the functioning of coordinators at different levels; the capabilities of friends serving as tutors of study circles, animators of junior youth groups, teachers of children's classes; and the promotion of an environment conducive at once to universal participation and mutual support and assistance--nowhere is the centrality of these to the fulfilment of the community's God-given mission lost on the friends.  What has been especially heartening to observe in this respect is the widespread mobilization of resources dedicated to the junior youth spiritual empowerment programme.  No less encouraging is the zeal with which institutes have greeted the challenge of preparing teachers for successive grades of Baha'i children's classes as additional materials for this purpose have been made available.  It seems timely, then, to offer National Spiritual Assemblies and their training institutes further guidance on the implementation of the main sequence of courses and those that branch off from it.

"The path of service"

A number of years ago, to aid the believers in thinking about the process of growth at the level of the cluster, we introduced the concept of two complementary movements.  The progress of a steady, ever-widening stream of individuals through the courses of the institute represents one of these.  It is not only responsible for giving impetus to the other--the development of the cluster, discernable in the collective capacity to manifest a pattern of life in conformity with the teachings of the Faith--but also dependent on it for its own perpetuation.  It was in view of mounting evidence of the effects of the Ruhi Institute curriculum on these two mutually reinforcing movements that we recommended its adoption worldwide six years ago.  At the time, we did not comment specifically on the pedagogical principles governing the curriculum; nevertheless, it should be apparent to the friends that the curriculum possesses desirable characteristics, some of which have been described in broad terms in our messages regarding the current series of global Plans.  Of particular significance is its organizing principle: developing capacity to serve the Cause and humanity in a process likened to walking a path of service. This conception shapes both content and structure.

The main sequence of courses is organized so as to set the individual, whether Baha'i or not, on a path being defined by the accumulating experience of the community in its endeavour to open before humanity the vision of Baha'u'llah's World Order. The very notion of a path is, itself, indicative of the nature and purpose of the courses, for a path invites participation, it beckons to new horizons, it demands effort and movement, it accommodates different paces and strides, it is structured and defined.  A path can be experienced and known, not only by one or two but by scores upon scores; it belongs to the community. To walk a path is a concept equally expressive.  It requires of the individual volition and choice; it calls for a set of skills and abilities but also elicits certain qualities and attitudes; it necessitates a logical progression but admits, when needed, related lines of exploration; it may seem easy at the outset but becomes more challenging further along.  And crucially, one walks the path in the company of others.

At present the main sequence consists of eight courses, though it is understood there may eventually be as many as eighteen that will address acts of service related to such requirements as coordination and administration, social action and involvement in the discourses of society.  There are currently two points along the sequence at which an individual may choose to follow a specialized path of service.  The first appears at Book 3.  From among the friends who complete it and begin to offer a relatively simple class for children in the first grade of a programme for their spiritual education, a percentage will want to dedicate themselves to this field of service, pursuing in time a series of progressively more complex branch courses for teaching Grades 2 to 6.  This does not mean that they will abandon study of the main sequence.  Indeed, courses that make up a specialized path of service anticipate that participants are continuing to progress, each at a pace suitable to his or her situation, along the path traced out by the main sequence.  Book 5, which seeks to raise up animators of junior youth groups, constitutes the second point at which a series of courses branch out.

Additional avenues of exploration will no doubt appear along the main sequence in due time.  Some may be of universal interest, such as the two mentioned above, while others may be limited to specific local needs.  As with the main sequence itself, content and structure must emerge out of continued collective experience in the field, an experience that is not haphazard or subject to the forces of personal preference but is guided by the institutions of the Faith.  The generation of such an experience will call for a still greater infusion of energy from a much larger portion of the population, and it would be premature, in all but a few places, for institutes to give attention to the creation or implementation of other branch courses at this juncture in the unfoldment of the current series of global Plans.

"Coordination"  

Clearly, the approach to capacity building described above represents an attempt to achieve a certain dynamics within a population that brings together service and the generation of knowledge and its diffusion, a subject which we discussed, albeit briefly, in our Ridvan 2010 message.  Here we address a few practical considerations, which the emergence of the two aforementioned specialized paths of service has made all the more relevant.

At any given moment it is possible to view from one of two perspectives what occurs in a cluster as the pattern of action promoted by the Five Year Plan, through which is woven the fabric of a vibrant community life, gathers in strength.  Both perspectives are equally valid; each offers a particular way of thinking and speaking about what is taking place.  From one perspective an educational process with three distinct stages appears in sharp relief:  the first for the youngest members of the community, the second for those in the challenging transitional years, and the third for youth and adults.  In this context, one speaks of three educational imperatives, each distinguished by its own methods and materials, each claiming a share of resources, and each served by mechanisms to systematize experience and to generate knowledge based on insights gained in the field.  Quite naturally, then, three discussions take shape around the implementation of the programme for the spiritual education of children, the junior youth spiritual empowerment programme, and the main sequence of courses.

From another perspective one thinks in terms of the three-month cycles of activity through which a community grows--the burst of expansion experienced as a result of intense action; the necessary period of consolidation during which increases in ranks are fortified as they, for example, participate in devotional gatherings and the Nineteen Day Feast and receive visits at their homes; and the opportunities designated for all to reflect and plan.  The question of teaching among receptive populations moves to the foreground in this light, and the challenge of seeking out souls who are willing to engage in a conversation about the world around them and participate in a collective effort to transform it comes into focus.

It is especially at the level of coordination that it proves indispensable to step back and view from these two vantage points what is essentially one reality.  Doing so makes it possible to analyse accurately, to assess strategically, to allocate wisely, and to avoid fragmentation.  At this point, then, early in the execution of the Plan, it seems more vital than ever for attention to be devoted to the issue of coordination.  Though the basic elements of an effective organizational scheme are already well understood, the form it should assume under diverse circumstances is in need of articulation.  We have asked the International Teaching Centre to follow efforts made in this direction, particularly in the several hundred furthest advanced clusters worldwide, in order to effect the rapid systematization of lessons learned.

In all such clusters, where the demands of large-scale growth are asserting themselves, each stage of the educational process promoted by the training institute must receive added support.  The work of the coordinator should be reinforced by assistance from a growing number of experienced individuals, and meetings for the exchange of information and insights become regular and more systematic in approach. So, too, must periodic occasions be created for the three coordinators appointed by the institute--or, where applicable, teams of coordinators concerned with study circles, junior youth groups and children's classes respectively--to examine together the strength of the educational process as a whole.  And they, in turn, should meet on a regular basis with the Area Teaching Committee.  Further, if an adequate flow of information, guidance and much-needed funds is to reach the cluster, a parallel set of steps will have to be taken by the board of the institute to enhance the functioning of that agency at the regional level. Where such a mature scheme of coordination is brought into place, the Auxiliary Board members and their assistants will be able to provide support across all areas of action with even greater effectiveness.

One final point merits reflection in this respect.  Nearly all of the several hundred clusters under consideration are associated with one or another of some forty sites for the dissemination of learning established by the Office of Social and Economic Development at the World Centre in response to the overwhelming demand for the junior youth programme experienced throughout the world.  Institutes operating in these clusters have already benefited over the past year from knowledge gained through the sites, particularly in relation to coordination of the programme.  Without question, the capacity to sustain scores of junior youth groups lent a powerful impetus to the progress of all such clusters and contributed decisively to the subsequent development of study circles and children's classes.  Sites supported by the Office of Social and Economic Development will continue to assist training institutes in addressing the complex set of questions arising out of the implementation of a programme for an age group whose enormous potential must remain the object of ongoing exploration.  We look to the institutes themselves, however, to foster the learning process necessary to manage large numbers of children's classes and study circles, to put in place a scheme at the cluster level that will strengthen coordination across their three defined areas of action, and to open the flow of resources from the regional level into the grassroots--this, to ensure the seamless progression of sizeable contingents from one stage of the educational process to the next and to facilitate the steady unfoldment of cycles of activity so essential to systematic growth.

"Classes for children"

Among the range of questions now before every training institute one stands out as particularly pressing: how to mobilize sufficient numbers of children's class teachers for successive grades and, by extension, tutors who can form groups to study the requisite courses.  The units that comprise the three books currently available contain both materials for study by teachers and lessons for children, allowing institutes to establish without delay the first three grades of a six-year programme.  To raise up an initial corps of teachers for these grades, they may well have to employ temporary measures.  A good scheme of coordination, built incrementally in keeping with demands on the ground, should make it possible to respond to exigencies with a degree of flexibility while maintaining the integrity of the overall educational process in the long term.     

Besides the systematic training of teachers for successive grades, institutes will need to learn about the formation of classes for distinct age groups in villages and neighbourhoods; the provision of teachers for various classes; the retention of students year after year, grade after grade; and the continued progress of children from a wide variety of households and backgrounds--in short, the establishment of an expanding, sustainable system for child education that will keep pace with both the growing concern among parents for their youngsters to develop sound moral structures and the rise in human resources in the community.  The task, while immense, is relatively straightforward, and we urge institutes everywhere to give it the attention which it so clearly deserves, focusing especially on the implementation of the first three grades of the programme and remembering that the quality of the teaching-learning experience depends, to a great extent, on the capabilities of the teacher.

A word of caution seems to be in order.  It is certainly not incorrect to speak of "training" children's class teachers or, for that matter, animators of junior youth groups.  Institutes, however, ought to take care, lest they begin to perceive their work as training in techniques, losing sight of the conception of capacity building at the heart of the institute process that entails a profound understanding of Baha'u'llah's Revelation.

"Educational materials"

In light of the foregoing paragraphs, the question of educational materials specifically as they pertain to children's classes and to junior youth groups has to be considered.  With regard to the former, we explained in our Ridvan 2010 message that the lessons prepared by the Ruhi Institute would constitute the core of a programme for the spiritual education of children, around which secondary elements could be organized.  Whether or not any additional elements are required to reinforce the educational process for each grade would generally be determined by teachers themselves, on the basis of specific circumstances, not infrequently in consultation with the institute coordinator at the cluster level.  It is assumed that, if found to be appropriate, any additional items would be selected from resources readily available.  There will seldom be cause to formalize the use of such items, whether directly through their adoption by training institutes or indirectly through their widespread systematic promotion.

In the case of junior youth groups, a similar approach is encouraged by the Office of Social and Economic Development.  The core of the programme consists of a series of textbooks studied by the groups.  We understand that, at present, seven of a projected eighteen textbooks, exploring a range of themes from a Baha'i perspective, though not in the mode of religious instruction, are available.  These form the major component of a three-year programme.  Another nine textbooks will provide a distinctly Baha'i component, and two of these are currently in use.  Animators are advised to complement study with artistic activities and service projects.  As with children's class teachers, the institute coordinator at the cluster level can offer animators assistance in determining how to proceed.  Yet, most often, such projects and activities are selected by the junior youth themselves, in light of their own circumstances and inclinations, in consultation with the group's animator.

In all such matters, those serving as teachers and animators alike are called upon to exercise discretion. Education is a vast field, and educational theories abound.  Surely many have considerable merit, but it should be remembered that none is free of assumptions about the nature of the human being and society. An educational process should, for example, create in a child awareness of his or her potentialities, but the glorification of self has to be scrupulously avoided.  So often in the name of building confidence the ego is bolstered.  Similarly, play has its place in the education of the young.  Children and junior youth, however, have proven time and again their capacity to engage in discussions on abstract subjects, undertaken at a level appropriate to their age, and derive great joy from the serious pursuit of understanding. An educational process that dilutes content in a mesmerizing sea of entertainment does them no service.  We trust that, in studying the institute courses, teachers and animators will find themselves increasingly equipped to make judicious decisions in selecting any materials or activities necessary, whether from traditional educational sources or from the wealth of items, such as songs, stories, and games, that are sure to be developed for the young in the Baha'i community in the years to come.

Propelled by forces generated both within and outside the Baha'i community, the peoples of the earth can be seen to be moving from divergent directions, closer and closer to one another, towards what will be a world civilization so stupendous in character that it would be futile for us to attempt to imagine it today. As this centripetal movement of populations accelerates across the globe, some elements in every culture, not in accord with the teachings of the Faith, will gradually fall away, while others will be reinforced.  By the same token, new elements of culture will evolve over time as people hailing from every human group, inspired by the Revelation of Baha'u'llah, give expression to patterns of thought and action engendered by His teachings, in part through artistic and literary works.  It is with such considerations in mind that we welcome the decision of the Ruhi Institute, in formulating its courses, to leave for the friends to address locally issues related to artistic activity.  What we ask at this stage, then, when energies are to be invested in the extension of children's classes and junior youth groups, is that the multiplication of supplementary items for this purpose be allowed to occur naturally, as an outgrowth of the process of community building gathering momentum in villages and neighbourhoods.  We long to see, for instance, the emergence of captivating songs from every part of the world, in every language, that will impress upon the consciousness of the young the profound concepts enshrined in the Baha'i teachings.  Yet such an efflorescence of creative thought will fail to materialize, should the friends fall, however inadvertently, into patterns prevalent in the world that give licence to those with financial resources to impose their cultural perspective on others, inundating them with materials and products aggressively promoted.  Further, every effort should be made to protect spiritual education from the perils of commercialization.  The Ruhi Institute itself has explicitly discouraged the proliferation of products and items that treat its identity as a brand to be marketed.  We hope that the friends will respect its diligence in this matter.

In this connection, it gives us pleasure to inform you that we have created an International Advisory Board to assist the Ruhi Institute in overseeing its system for the preparation, production, and distribution of materials, the content and structure of which now draw extensively on Baha'i experience worldwide in applying the teachings and principles of the Faith to the life of humanity.  As it gradually takes up its work, the Board will be able to respond to related issues and follow the development of supplementary materials that are aligned with the direction set by the global Plans.

*

In closing, we feel compelled to address a few words to training institutes throughout the world:  It should be remembered that the Baha'i children's class teacher and the junior youth group animator, entrusted with so much responsibility for strengthening the moral foundations of the community, will, in most places, be a young person in his or her teens.  Increasingly these young people will emerge, it can be expected, from the junior youth spiritual empowerment programme imbued with a strong twofold purpose, both to develop their inherent potentialities and to contribute to the transformation of society. But they may also come from any one of a number of educational backgrounds with all the hope in their hearts that, through strenuous concerted effort, the world will change.  Irrespective of particulars, they will, one and all, share in the desire to dedicate their time and energy, talents and abilities, to service to their communities.  Many, when given the opportunity, will gladly devote a few years of their lives to the provision of spiritual education to the rising generations.  In the young people of the world, then, lies a reservoir of capacity to transform society waiting to be tapped.  And the release of this capacity should be regarded by every institute as a sacred charge. 


[signed:  The Universal House of Justice]


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Audio version, available here for download (courtesy of Roger Coe) - simply click "Download" in the upper right corner of the new screen that opens up:

https://docs.google.com/leaf?id=0BymDoA8RcD-ZMzc1NjZhMzMtYWJkNS00OTQ2LThiYmUtYmE0MmE3NmY4MGUy

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Ridván 2011 - The Universal House of Justice

THE UNIVERSAL HOUSE OF JUSTICE

Ridván 2011

To the Bahá’ís of the World

Dearly loved Friends,

1. At the opening of this glorious season our eyes are brightened as we behold the newly unveiled brilliance of the gilded dome that crowns the exalted Shrine of the Báb. Restored to the supernal lustre intended for it by Shoghi Effendi, that august edifice once again shines out to land, sea, and sky, by day and by night, attesting the majesty and holiness of Him Whose hallowed remains are embosomed within.

2. This moment of joy synchronizes with the close of an auspicious chapter in the unfoldment of the Divine Plan. Only a single decade remains of the first century of the Formative Age, the first hundred years to be spent beneath the benevolent shade of the Will and Testament of 'Abdu'l-Bahá. The Five Year Plan now ending is succeeded by another, the features of which have already been made the object of intense study across the Bahá’í world. Indeed, we could not be more gratified by the response to our message to the Conference of the Continental Boards of Counsellors and to the Ridván message of twelve months ago. Not satisfied with a fragmentary grasp of their contents, the friends are returning to these messages again and again, singly and in groups, at formal meetings and spontaneous gatherings. Their understanding is enriched through active and informed participation in the programmes of growth being nurtured in their clusters. Consequently, the Bahá’í community worldwide has consciously absorbed in a few months what it needs to propel it into a confident start to the coming decade.

3. Over the same period, cumulative instances of political upheaval and economic turmoil on various continents have shaken governments and peoples. Societies have been brought to the brink of revolution, and in notable cases over the edge. Leaders are finding that neither arms nor riches guarantee security. Where the aspirations of the people have gone unfulfilled, a store of indignation has accrued. We recall how pointedly Bahá'u'lláh admonished the rulers of the earth: "Your people are your treasures. Beware lest your rule violate the commandments of God, and ye deliver your wards to the hands of the robber." A word of caution: No matter how captivating the spectacle of the people's fervour for change, it must be remembered that there are interests which manipulate the course of events. And, so long as the remedy prescribed by the Divine Physician is not administered, the tribulations of this age will persist and deepen. An attentive observer of the times will readily recognize the accelerated disintegration, fitful but relentless, of a world order lamentably defective.

4. Yet, discernible too is its counterpart, the constructive process that the Guardian associated with "the nascent Faith of Bahá'u'lláh" and described as "the harbinger of the New World Order that Faith must erelong establish." Its indirect effects can be seen in the outpouring of feeling, especially from the young, that springs from a longing to contribute to societal development. It is a bounty accorded to the followers of the Ancient Beauty that this longing, which wells up inexorably from the human spirit in every land, is able to find such eloquent expression in the work the Bahá’í community is carrying out to build capacity for effective action amongst the diverse populations of the planet. Can any privilege compare with this?

5. For insight into this work let every believer look to 'Abdu'l-Bahá, the centenary of Whose "epoch-making journeys" to Egypt and the West is being marked at this time. Tirelessly, He expounded the teachings in every social space: in homes and mission halls, churches and synagogues, parks and public squares, railway carriages and ocean liners, clubs and societies, schools and universities. Uncompromising in defence of the truth, yet infinitely gentle in manner, He brought the universal divine principles to bear on the exigencies of the age. To all without distinction—officials, scientists, workers, children, parents, exiles, activists, clerics, sceptics—He imparted love, wisdom, comfort, whatever the particular need. While elevating their souls, He challenged their assumptions, reoriented their perspectives, expanded their consciousness, and focused their energies. He demonstrated by word and deed such compassion and generosity that hearts were utterly transformed. No one was turned away. Our great hope is that frequent recollection, during this centennial period, of the Master's matchless record will inspire and fortify His sincere admirers. Set His example before your eyes and fix your gaze upon it; let it be your instinctive guide in your pursuit of the aim of the Plan.

6. At the inception of the Bahá’í community's first global Plan, Shoghi Effendi described in compelling language the successive stages by which the divine light had been kindled in the Síyáh-Chál, clothed in the lamp of revelation in Baghdád, spread to countries in Asia and Africa even as it shone with added brilliancy in Adrianople and later in 'Akká, projected across the seas to the remaining continents, and by which it would be progressively diffused over the states and dependencies of the world. The final part of this process he characterized as the "penetration of that light ... into all the remaining territories of the globe", referring to it as "the stage at which the light of God's triumphant Faith shining in all its power and glory will have suffused and enveloped the entire planet." Though that goal is far from being fulfilled, the light already blazes intensely in many a region. In some countries it shines in every cluster. In the land where that inextinguishable light was first ignited, it burns bright despite those who would snuff it out. In diverse nations it achieves a steady glow across whole neighbourhoods and villages, as candle after candle in heart after heart is lighted by the Hand of Providence; it illuminates thoughtful conversation at every level of human interaction; it casts its beams upon a myriad initiatives taken to promote the well-being of a people. And in every instance it radiates from a faithful believer, a vibrant community, a loving Spiritual Assembly—each a beacon of light against the gloom.

7. We pray earnestly at the Sacred Threshold that each one of you, bearers of the undying flame, may be surrounded by the potent confirmations of Bahá'u'lláh as you convey to others the spark of faith.

THE UNIVERSAL HOUSE OF JUSTICE


Alternative sources:  
1. http://en.bahaitext.org/Ri%E1%B8%8Dv%C3%A1n_messages/2011
2. http://bahairesearch.com/english/Baha%27i/Authoritative_Baha%27i/The_Universal_House_of_Justice/Ridvan_Messages/Ridvan_168_2011.aspx

8 June 2005 - International Teaching Centre, Observations on Intensive Programs of Growth (IPG)

THE INTERNATIONAL TEACHING CENTRE

BAHÁ’Í WORLD CENTRE 

8 June 2005 

To all Continental Boards of Counsellors

Dearly loved Co-workers,

In the last few months the process of growth on every continent has continued to gather pace as cluster after cluster has reached the stage where intensive programmes of growth can be initiated. In analysing the associated learning, drawn from the experiences you have shared with us, we have identified several patterns of action which have proven effective, as well as certain pitfalls which should be avoided. We wish to take this opportunity to share with you a few observations that we hope will be of assistance in your ongoing efforts to promote further programmes of growth and to maximise the effectiveness of the existing ones.

Care should be taken that the planning work does not take too long and place an undue delay on the start of the programme. Further, the plan of action, particularly in the early cycles, should remain simple and be presented at the reflection meeting with clarity so that it can be easily understood, eliciting the friends’ willing and enthusiastic participation.

In the short expansion phase, the intensification of effort is focused on teaching the Faith. This entails going beyond proclaiming the message, merely conveying information, or holding a few events. What has proven effective in many clusters is the formation of teaching teams, campaigns of home visits, or carefully designed teaching projects, with the aim of maximising the opportunity for profound teaching encounters.

As would be expected, experience demonstrates that the more closely the teaching efforts and approaches have been related to the capacities acquired from the study of institute courses, the more fruitful has been the outcome. For this reason, in many instances offering refresher courses, particularly sections of Ruhi Institute Books 2 and 6, immediately prior to the start of the expansion phase, has proven highly beneficial.

In clusters with great receptivity, whether urban or rural, the friends should not hesitate in enrolling new believers, mistakenly assuming that they must first be involved in core activities. Rather, following their declaration new believers should immediately be incorporated in core activities during the consolidation phase and receive deepening visits.

In clusters where receptivity is lower, focusing on teaching the existing community of interest during the expansion phase has proven extremely successful. Additionally, teaching acquaintances, family, neighbours and colleagues in this phase, leads many souls to become attracted to the Faith and participate in core activities. Goals related to enrolments in these clusters can be set with respect to the entire cycle rather than just the expansion phase.

We hope that at the upcoming meetings of the Boards your attention will continue to be focused on the forward movement of the clusters during the critical next few months ahead without any interruption. The remarkable progress that has been made in advancing the process of growth on every continent owes much to your tireless and dedicated exertions. As you continue in this direction, you will assist the communities to ensure a triumphant conclusion to the Five Year Plan, and a seamless transition to the “even more ambitious undertaking” that lies ahead. Be assured of our fervent supplications at the Sacred Threshold that the Lord of Hosts may confirm your devoted labours.

With loving Bahá’í greetings,

The International Teaching Centre


Alternative source: http://bahairesearch.com/english/Baha%27i/Authoritative_Baha%27i/The_Universal_House_of_Justice/Agencies/ITC/2005_Jun_8_ITC_IPG_Observations.aspx

30 September 2007 - International Teaching Centre

THE INTERNATIONAL TEACHING CENTRE
BAHÁ’Í WORLD CENTRE

30 September 2007

To all Continental Counsellors

Dearly loved Co-workers,

Over the past few months all of the Continental Boards of Counsellors have held their biannual plenary meetings and focused on the challenge of accelerating the movement of clusters and the launching of an increasing number of intensive programs of growth. Representatives of the International Teaching Centre participated in each of these meetings and shared some of the insights garnered from our travels and from your reports on a wide range of clusters. The consultations at those meetings, along with the recent successes in the teaching field that have resulted from the new approaches we discussed, have further enriched our understanding of growth. Learning about growth is a dynamic process. The more we do, the more we learn. As part of the ongoing learning, we wish to share with you some of our current thinking on how to advance the process of entry by troops, with special reference to the hundreds of less developed clusters that need to reach a level of significant, sustained growth by the end of the Five Year Plan. We hope these perspectives will assist you in guiding and accompanying the Auxiliary Board members and their assistants in their efforts to invigorate the teaching work, foster systematic growth, and in so doing, achieve the goals for this coming Ridván.

In the short span of time since your participation in the Auxiliary Board member conferences, we have seen how the spirit and resolve you and your auxiliaries evinced at those gatherings have been translated into consecrated efforts at the grass roots to promote the framework of the Plan. That you have proceeded “with the full force of [your] energies” has been abundantly clear. What is also clear is that the rate of establishing intensive programs of growth on each continent must be dramatically accelerated if we are to achieve the goal of 1,500 growth programs by the end of the Plan. This challenge is brought into relief when we consider that at Ridván 2008, 40 percent of the five-year period will have been completed. We feel that the goals countries have set for the next several months are fully attainable. Target dates for launching intensive programs of growth can be adjusted if they are not realistic, but they cannot be continually postponed. What is required is to apply more widely a few key strategies that have created greater momentum in emerging clusters and have also resulted in a marked upswing in enrollments in clusters with intensive programs of growth.

A three-month cycle of activity

One of the most striking insights drawn from the experience in advanced clusters is that many dimensions of the framework for action critical to the success of an intensive program of growth are integral to the progress of less developed clusters. No matter what its stage of development, in every priority cluster it is beneficial that the friends, even if their numbers are few, make plans according to a three-month cycle of activity. This establishes a rhythm that helps the believers and institutions become more systematic in the process of consultation, action, and reflection, and prepares them for their eventual intensive program of growth.

Assessing the strength of the institute process

Another lesson derived from the experience of clusters with intensive programs of growth is that an assessment of the strength of the institute process should be measured by activity and growth and not solely by attaining numerical benchmarks. In some cases these benchmarks have become barriers to the advancement of clusters. During the previous Plan it was felt that achieving the propitious condition of having “a sizable group of devoted and capable believers who understand the prerequisites for sustainable growth” suggested that at least 40 to 50 believers needed to complete the sequence of courses before a dynamic environment for growth could be created. In many cases this is true, particularly if fewer than half of those believers arise to serve and translate what they have learned in the institute courses into constructive action. However, recent experience has shown that in some regions a far smaller number of friends, when fully engaged in the framework for action, can initiate and sustain a growth process of steady enrollments, provided the new believers are nurtured and trained to quickly join in shouldering the work of the Cause in their cluster. The difference in these clusters is that the efforts of the believers who have completed the sequence are augmented by the vigorous participation in the activities of the Plan by the friends at earlier levels of the sequence.

Laying the foundation for a program of growth

As you know, an important realization is that no two clusters are exactly alike. In particular, the less developed clusters that have the furthest to advance over the next few years have quite different strengths, demographics, receptivity, and other conditions. The task of assessing the strength of such clusters requires a careful look at the ability of the individuals in that particular cluster to begin to put in place, through teaching and core activities, the basic elements of a growth program. As the human resources in such clusters become more abundant and the believers more effective in their teaching work, the program of growth will reach an intensive stage. Thus the need of the institutions to view their criteria for advancing clusters in a fresh way is not merely a call for flexibility but for recognizing that the movement of clusters from one category to another is a seamless process of systematic, organic growth, rather than a hierarchical set of hurdles.

A renewed emphasis on teaching

In clusters at an early stage of development, it is possible to work with a core group of believers—say five to ten—and by giving them a vision of the framework, assisting them to make plans, and accompanying them in teaching and other acts of service, set in motion a process that will lead to sustained growth. One should never underestimate what a handful of capable tutors can do and how effectively they can respond to growth and raise up new human resources. The vital component of such an incipient growth program is an emphasis on teaching, which needs to be present from the start. Again, this is a key element of learning from clusters with intensive programs of growth. Those that have attained a healthy, sustainable growth pattern are characterized by a focus on teaching, in particular direct teaching, and not just on extending invitations to core activities. Where intensive programs of growth have stalled at a plateau of low numbers of enrollments, the dimension missing from the framework for action is direct, collective teaching.

Bringing the believers into the teaching work

An accent on teaching in clusters at a formative stage can consist not only of direct, individual teaching but also of small, collective efforts, which experience shows can propel the process of growth and advance the cluster in an accelerated manner. Granted, the friends may need to be cautioned not to outstrip their human resources, but the development of a culture of teaching, supported by ongoing training, will be the surest path to a successful intensive program of growth. Moreover, when the believers taste the sweetness of the teaching experience, it sustains their enthusiasm. Another lesson from some advanced clusters is that the friends are often not easily mobilized once they have completed institute courses because there are no demands placed upon them as would be the case if there were an influx of new believers. When there is growth, the believers arise to serve and mobilization is realized.

Teaching projects

Along with giving focused attention to the less developed clusters that need to make significant headway in the coming months, a priority for you and your auxiliaries is to help bring about increased growth in the advanced clusters. The lack of appreciable growth in many intensive programs can be attributed to ineffective expansion phases. As you have observed, this phase often lacks intensity and the character of the activities undertaken is the same as those ongoing during the rest of the cycle. A teaching project involving a growing number of friends in a planned, collective effort that extends over one or two weeks, employing a range of direct methods, reaching out to a receptive population, coordinating the efforts of several teaching teams, and engaging the believers in an intense endeavor animated by daily prayer is a hallmark of an expansion phase.

Utilizing resource persons

In order for more of the intensive programs of growth to launch collective teaching projects and to achieve a breakthrough in enrollments, we have encouraged you to identify and deploy resource persons who are dynamic teachers, experienced with the framework of the Plan, capable of generating enthusiasm and intensity, and available to guide and build capacity in the friends in these advanced clusters to carry out a project in the expansion phase over a number of cycles. The early results from this approach are immensely encouraging. The movement of these resource persons, along with those you have identified for the institute process, junior youth groups, and home visits, should be a primary strategy for clusters with intensive programs of growth and is equally suited to those moving toward that stage.

Homefront pioneering

In addition to short-term resource persons, we wish to reiterate the necessity of approaching selected, dedicated believers, who have demonstrable experience in initiating core activities, and calling upon them to consider the special service of homefront pioneering. Although you will be opening this opportunity before these friends, the motivation to enter the pioneering field should be their own. Where necessary, financial assistance can be provided but such a service must receive its impulse from “the spiritual energies of those steadfast and devoted souls who long to labor without expectation of financial reward in the path of God.”

Both short- and long-term homefront pioneers will be required in the clusters that are at an early stage of development to help form the core of believers needed to establish the mutually reinforcing processes of teaching and training. In the advanced clusters, it is clear that without the conscious deployment of homefront pioneers to certain areas or sectors of the cluster where more receptive populations reside, the awaited breakthrough in achieving large-scale enrollments may not materialize. Although great strides can be made by believers who live near areas with receptive groups and who commit themselves to initiating regular core activities in these areas, the settlement of homefront pioneers, even for six to twelve months, will provide stability and continuity for the teaching work and the process of community building.

It is gratifying that the first year of this Plan registered a higher level of enrollments worldwide than in any of the previous five years. The energy and devotion the institutions and individual believers have manifested in pursuing the aim of advancing the process of entry by troops have attracted the outpourings of divine grace. Remain ever confident that an all-loving Providence will bless and sustain you in your sacred tasks, and summon forth the determination to marshal the talents and energies of the believers so that the next six months will witness unparalleled triumphs in the teaching field. As we proceed on this path, we are reminded of these inspiring words of encouragement from Shoghi Effendi: “The field, in all its vastness and fertility, is wide open … The harvest is ripe. The hour is overdue.”

You are warmly remembered in our prayers.

With loving Bahá’í greetings,
The International Teaching Centre

cc: Continental Boards of Counsellors