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Journal of the Bahá'í Community
of the United
Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
May 2001 / 158BE
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National Spiritual Assembly
National Spiritual Assembly
The Guardian’s Resting Place
The National Spiritual Assembly would like to
remind the friends that new security arrangements are in operation
to protect the Guardian’s Resting Place against any further
intrusions by thieves or vandals:
- the gates to the enclosure around the monument are locked at 5
p.m. each day, (when the Custodians complete their day’s
work);
- when the gates are locked the alarm system is switched on;
- anyone entering the enclosure at this time will trigger the
alarm;
- the alarm alerts the security company who monitor the
Bahá’í part of the Cemetery.
Happy Naw Rúz!
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The Guardian’s Resting
Place is open for prayer and meditation between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m.
each day. Please do not enter the enclosure outside these hours. If
you wish to visit the Guardian’s Resting Place outside these
hours, while the cemetery is still open, you are most welcome to
pray there, but please remain outside the enclosure while you do
so. Unfortunately, one of the friends entered the
alarmed section after 6pm and set the alarm off. Every time this
happens a cost is incurred and various people are put to
inconvenience by having to go to the Guardian’s Resting Place
to check and reset the alarm. We feel sure that you will understand
why this is so important.
The Office of External Affairs
Guided by the external affairs strategy
communicated to National Spiritual Assemblies in 1994, the
community’s capacity in the fields of diplomatic and public
information likewise expanded at an astonishing rate, placing the
Bahá’í community in a dynamic relationship with
the United Nations, governments, non-governmental organizations
(NGOs) and the media. The strategy focused activities at
international and national levels on two key objectives: to
influence the processes towards world peace, and to defend the
Faith.
[Universal House of Justice, message to the
Bahá’ís of the World, Ridván 157]
Since the establishment of the Office of External Affairs at 27
Rutland Gate in October 1998, our external affairs work has
developed at a breathtaking pace. The All Party Parlia-mentary
Friends of the Bahá’ís has been established
with the approval of the House of Justice, a friendly working
relationship with the Foreign & Commonwealth Office has been
nurtured, and we have made our contribution to defending our
beleaguered brethren in Iran. In January a well-attended seminar in
the House of Com-mons launched our major new initiative, the
Institute for Social Cohesion, as a forum for action research and
for discourse on the question: What makes a society cohesive? The
OEA has also been working with other non-govern-mental
organizations to encourage the government to fulfil its promise to
ratify the treaty that will establish the Interna-tional Criminal
Court, as well as engaging in a wide range of interfaith
organizations.
Board of Trustees of Huqúqu’lláh for the
Republic of Ireland and the United Kingdom
Mrs Erica Leith: Secretary, Dr Ramin Khadem, Mrs
Val McGinley, Dr Wendi Momen, and Mr Hadi Rahmani
Representatives
Mrs Joan Estall (Republic of Ireland), Mr Andrew
Goodwin (Scotland), Mrs Patricia Jamshidi (Northern Ireland), Mrs
Azar Melville (Wales), Mrs Rosie Villiers-Stuart (North of England,
and Mr Farzin Yourtchi (England).
For contact details, please communicate with the National
Office, tel.: 020 7584 2566. |
This and other vital external affairs tasks need
resources – people and money. The National Assembly has
assigned a generous budget for OEA, but we cannot commit funds to
projects unless the friends understand the importance of ensuring
that we are able to do what the House of Justice wants us to do in
this vital field of service.
What is a Disability?
We have already told the Friends that the
Disability Dis-crimination Act will come fully into effect in
October 2004. All the premises where Bahá’í
activities take place will need to comply with the Act. As there
seems to be some confusion about what constitutes a
“disability” within the meaning of the Act we would
like to make this clear: A person who has a disability if he or she
has a physical or mental impairment which has a substantial and
long-term adverse effect on his or her ability to carry out normal
day-to- day activities. Long-term means it has lasted at least 12
months, or where the total period for which it lasts is likely to
be at least 12 months or that it is likely to last for the rest of
the life of the person affected.
The broad categories where a person might be
considered to have a disability are:
- mobility
- manual dexterity
- physical coordination
- continence
- ability to lift, carry or otherwise move everyday objects
- speech, hearing or eyesight
- memory or ability to concentrate, learn or understand
- perception of the risk of physical danger
The National Assembly hopes this information
will help the Friends in meeting their responsibilities under this
important legislation.
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BSL Signers Wanted
Dearly loved friends,
The National Spiritual Assembly would very much
like to know if there are Bahá’ís in the United
Kingdom who are fluent in BSL who could make themselves available
for signing at national and regional conferences, at residential
schools and at other events. We are aware that signers usually work
in teams.
We would also be interested to know whether
there are any Bahá’ís in the United Kingdom who
presently require this service or a similar service and how it can
best be provided. Please do write to the National Assembly With
loving greetings,
Wendi Momen Dr Wendi Momen, Assistant
Secretary
National Spiritual Assembly of the
Bahá’ís of the UK
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"Ending Violence in the Family"
"Ending Violence in the Family" is the title of
a statement recently released by the National Spiritual Assembly on
behalf of the Bahá'í Community of the United Kingdom.
The Friends may find it something to share with local journalists,
contacts, or appropriate organisations. To obtain a copy please
contact the Bahá'í Information Office (SAE always
appreciated).
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BIO Webspace URL
The Webspace of the Bahá'í
Informa-tion Office, which hosts a number of sites of interest and
use to both Bahá'ís and non-Bahá'ís, is
being more closely integrated into the main site of the National
Spiritual Assembly at www.bahai.org.uk. The existing home page will be maintained in
parallel with the new one on the NSA site, as many people have that
URL and it also appears on a number of current documents. However
home links from the various BIO sites will now lead back to the new
page. If you are a regular visitor to the BIO Webspace you might
like to bookmark it. The direct URL, avoiding the rather attractive
Flash effects but getting right to it, is: www.bahai.org.uk/opi/ (new
address). |
Bahá’í Information
Office
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“Bahá’í Future” Website
When we announced that the Millennium Website,
one of several sites maintained by the Bahá'í
Information Office , had served its time and would be
decommissioned, a number of you contacted us.
You asked whether, even though we were now past
the turn-of- the-Christian-millennium which gave the site is focus,
a way could be found to make it over and keep the useful parts of
the site available. We are happy to say this has been done and the
key elements form a new "Bahá'í Future" website which
can be visited at: www.iol.ie/~isp/future/ |
Guidance on Travel to Middle-Eastern
Countries
May we remind the friends that the Universal
House of Justice has instructed that any believer planning to
travel to a Middle-eastern, North African, or any other Muslim
country (whether for business or holiday), must contact the
National Office well in advance for guidance. They should ask to
speak to either Hilary Freeman or Angela Tidswell in the Office of
the Secretary.
This is a very serious matter, involvong the
protection of the Faith and the personal safety of the believers.
We urge all the friends to comply with these instructions.
To: All Community School Trustee Local Spiritual
Assemblies
Dearly loved friends,
As a result of the boundary changes, some
Community Schools may lose their current Trustee Local Spiritual
Assembly.
If this is about to happen, it will be necessary
to identify and appoint (through the Children
Bahá’í Education Service) a new Trustee
Assembly from among those Assemblies within or adjacent to the
school’s catchment area. This is the usual practice, as
outlined in the ‘Guide-lines for Schools’ approved and
circulated by the National Assembly.
If there is no Local Assembly remaining within
or adjacent to the school’s catchment area, or there is no
Local Assem-bly strong enough to serve in this capacity, then the
direct responsibility for the Community School, with all that this
entails, reverts to the Children’s Bahá’í
Education Service, as the national agency appointed by the National
Assembly to hold overall supervision of formal
Bahá’í education for children and junior youth
in the United Kingdom.
With loving greetings,
Wendi Momen
Tranquillity Zones: Information and
Guidance
A number of communities have found Tranquillity
Zones a useful activity both for the benefit of the Friends and as
part of our outreach into the wider community. The National
Spiritual Assembly is preparing a detailed guide on the subject but
as an interim measure a basic sheet of points for the information
and guidance of those thinking of holding Tranquillity Zone
gatherings has been prepared. It is available in electronic form
(as attached *.PDF file) by e-mail from: resources@bahai.org.uk
and in a printed copy by writing to: The National Spiritual
Assembly, 27 Rutland Gate, London SW7 1PD |
National Teaching Committee
Understanding Teaching
The National Teaching Committee is embarking on
an ambitious and exciting project, inspired, in part, by the work
of the NTC of the US and encouraged by the NSA of the UK. Following
a lengthy deepening process and much consultation with the NSA, a
research proposal has been approved by the NSA.
The Project involves a major piece of research,
which will examine the three essential aspects of teaching, namely,
proclamation, expansion and consolidation and the extent to which
these are successfully integrated into the teaching work in the UK
Bahá’í community. If we can learn more about
what promotes and hinders success in teaching then we become more
effective in reaching receptive audiences, in enabling seekers to
embrace the Cause and improving our retention rates. Indeed, one of
the most dramatic findings from the US research was that if the
retention rate of new believers had been increased from less than
50% to 80% (the average rate for some Christian denominations) then
instead of the current 70,000 believers in the US, there would be
260,000.
We can all play our part to hasten the process
of Entry by Troops. The NTC needs your help to complete this
impor-tant research project.
We need:
- Experts in research design and methodology
- Field workers to conduct research
- Individuals with skills in database & statistical computer
packages
- Individuals who can undertake literature research
- Students in Bahá’í societies who could set
up “focus groups’ made up of fellow non
Bahá’í students
Some funds are available to help with this work
so please don’t let economic considerations alone deter you
from offering to help. If you can help then contact the NTC for
more information. E-mail: ntc-uk@mail.com |
Copyright, © 2001, National Spiritual Assembly of the
Bahá'ís of the United Kingdom. All rights reserved.
 
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