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Chronology of the Bahá'í Faith in Canada

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Date 1982, descending sort earliest first

date event tags firsts
1982 2 – 5 Sep
198-
Bahá'í International Conference to mark the fiftieth anniversary of the passing of the Greatest Holy Leaf was held in Montreal, Canada, attended by 9,400 Bahá'ís from 101 countries. [BW18:100; VV61; BC Vol 3 No 8 p3-16]
  • For the message of the Universal House of Justice see BW18:161–2.
  • For a pictorial report see BW18:151–4.
  • A two-member team was appointed by the National Assembly to coordinate the event: Jim Heidema, who was at that time manager of the National Centre and who handled all the logistical planning, and Elizabeth Martin who was made responsible for staging and program arrangements. [HNWE37]
  • Conferences, Bahá'í; - Conferences, International; Bahiyyih Khanum (Greatest Holy Leaf); Jim Heidema; Elizabeth Martin; Montreal, QC
    1982 30 Aug - 2 Sep
    198-
    The Seventh Annual Conference of the Association for Bahá'í Studies was held at the Chateau Laurier Hotel in Ottawa and was attended by some 650 people, among them, Hand of the Cause of God John Robarts. The Conference theme, "The Bahá'í Option," was explored in a variety of addresses and papers, and in workshops and symposia on scholarship, curricula, health, and international development.

    Also among the Conference participants were Dr. Farzam Arbáb, a member of the Continental Board of Counsellors for the Americas; three members of the National Spiritual Assembly of Canada, Dr. Hossain Danesh, Glen Eyford and Douglas Martin; and three members of the U.S. National Spiritual Assembly, Dr. Wilma Brady, Judge Dorothy W. Nelson and Judge James F. Nelson. Also attending were Counsellor Raul Pavón; Dr. Victor de Araujo, the representative of the Bahá'í International Community at the United Nations; and Dr. Betty J. Fisher, general editor of the U.S. Bahá'í Publishing Trust.

    This year's Hasan Balyúzi Lectureship was delivered by Gayle Morrison, a Bahá'í historian and educator from Hawaii who is the author of To Move the World, a biography of the Hand of the Cause of God Louis G. Gregory. Mrs. Morrison's topic was "A New Creation: The Power of the Covenant in the Life of Louis Gregory." [BC Vol 3 No 8 February 1982 p17-17]

    Bahá'í Studies, Associations for; Ottawa, ON
    1982 Ridván
    198-
    The first closed National Convention was held. In addition to the delegates, those who attended included Hands of the Cause William Sears and John Robarts, Counsellor Lloyd Gardner, and some Auxiliary Board Members.

    In addition to the open style of the agenda and the Thursday supper, another new feature of the Convention was Friday's lunch at which everyone had a chance to discuss particular issues at differently designated tables. The closed nature of the Convention permitted the delegates, along with the Hands of the Cause, Counsellor, Board Members, and National Assembly members to get together for talks and discussions over meals and at breaks without getting caught up in the always festive, often overwhelming atmosphere of recent National Conventions which have seen upwards of one thousand participants.

    Elected to the National Spiritual Assembly were; Glen Eyford, Douglas Martin, Elizabeth Rochester, Michael Rochester, Edmund Muttart, Husayn Banani, Ruth Eyford, Jane Faily, and Hossain Danesh. [CBN Vol14 No 3 July/Aug 1982 p22]

    National Convention; National Spiritual Assembly, election of; Glen Eyford; Douglas Martin; Elizabeth Rochester; Michael Rochester; Edmund Muttart; Husayn Banani; Ruth Eyford; Jane Faily; Hossain Danesh
    1982 10 - 11 Apr
    198-
    Bahá'í International Health Agency was established as an affiliate of the Association for Bahá'í Studies. [BW18:201; VV25] Bahá'í Studies, Associations for; Health and healing
    1982 20 Jan
    198-
    The passing of Mabel Harriet Pine (b. 1882 Bristol, England) in the Norword Auxiliary Hospital in Edmonton. [Bahá'í Canada Vol 4 No3 July/Aug 1982 p46]

    As a young woman born into a privileged class she was a suffragette and a reformer. She worked as a nursemaid and governess then moved to Algiers and then Chile. After returning home she decided to emigrate to Canada and lived first in Vancouver and then in Edmonton where she trained as a nurse and married.

  • After loosing one child and almost loosing a second, in 1925 they moved to Armstrong, BC where she first heard of the Faith. They didn't stay long in Armstrong but moved back to Alberta for work. It was while she was visiting England the following year that she stayed with Claudia Coles and became confirmed in the Faith.
  • After living in Scollard, AB (1926-1927) and Vermillion, AB (1928-1941) they moved to Edmonton where they stayed for a year for the education of their daughter, Allison. She joined Mary Fry who had been there since 1940, the first Bahá'ís to live in Edmonton since Esther Rennels (1911-1917). They lived in a few more small towns in Alberta and in 1947 she and her husband separated and she moved back to Edmonton. [OBCC122, 186]
  • In about 1952 she pioneered to Vernon, BC.
  • She moved to Calgary to help form an Assembly in 1953 and left in 1954 to return to Edmonton. [CBN No 56 September 1954 p5]
  • 1975 she was living in New Westminster and her daughter moved her back to Alberta to care for her.
  • In her honour the Edmonton Community has established the Mabel Pine Bahá'í School for the spiritual education of children. [Bahá'í CanadaVol 16 No 1 May 2003 p14]

    [With thanks to Allion Stecyk for her tribute to her mother Mabel Harriet Pine: Unsung Heroine of Canada and to Joan Young for her research assistance.]

  • Mabel Pine; In Memoriam; Mabel Pine; Claudia Coles; Allison Stecyk; Joan Young; Mary Fry; Esther Rennels; Edmonton, AB; Scollard, AB; Vermillion, AB; Calgary, AB; Armstrong, BC; Vernon, BC; New Westminster, BC
    1982 (In the year)
    198-
    Canadian Bahá'í International Development Service was established. [BBRSM154] Development
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