The officers were selected on the 3rd of May and they were: Chairman – Ciprian Jauca; Vice-chairman – Jordan Bighorn; Treasurer – Mehran Anvari; Secretary – Karen McKye; Assistant Secretary – Nabet Fani. [from the letter from the NSA dated 6 May 2025]

This year’s Convention held special historical significance, marking the 100th anniversary of the election of the first National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States and Canada, at a convention held in Eliot, Maine in July 1925. [OPA Canada 2 July 2025]

Note: the International Centre for Human Rights and Democratic Development was created to be a non-partisan, independent Canadian institution. It was established by an act of the Canadian parliamentin 1988 to "encourage and support the universal values of human rights and the promotion of democratic institutions and practices around the world".

Those elected to serve as members of the National Spiritual Assembly were: Mehran Anvari (Treasurer), Alex Arjomand, Jordan Bighorn (Vice-chair), Zelalem Bimrew Kasse, Nabet Fani, Hoda Farahmandpour, Judy Filson, Ciprian Jauca (Chair) and Karen McKye (Secretary). [Bahá'í Canada 13May24]

At the end of this year of service Judy Filson requested that she be permitted to relinquish her membership on the National Spiritual Assembly after 19 years. [Message from the NSA dated 28 March 2025]

Alberta: Milad Asdaghi, Nazila Ghasemi, Tony Liu, Shamim Mehrabkhani, and Sina Misaghian
The Atlantic Provinces: Ryan Brennan, Kristi Petro, Hedda Schuurman, Gnei (Kumala) Sobhani, and Kelley Wright
British Columbia:
Charlene Antinuk, Jason Burtwistle, Tabasom Eblaghie, Nabet Fani, Neil MacMillan, Chohre Rassekh, Alaleh Rohani, Pegah Seisan, and Cindy Snedden
Ontario:
Sonya Appadoo, Tyrone Davids, Livia Dittmer, Jeff Hamilton-Bachiu, Jane Hoy, Pejman Mosleh, Roya Mostaghim-Vaezi, Todd Smith, and Melanie Vafaie
Quebec:
Josée Cardinal, Dave Courtemanche, Gregory Fortin-Vidah, Mitra Javanmardi, Nabil Nakhostine, Ilya Shodjaee-Zrudlo, Leyla Shodjai, Anne Skeaff and Laurie Zrudlo
Saskatchewan and Manitoba:
Sandra Agahi, Sally Greenough, Ward Johnston, Payam Towfigh, and Joanne Yeo

Longtime members Elizabeth Wright and Deloria Bighorn retired from service on the National Assembly. Deloria Bighorn was elected to the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of Canada in 2009, and has served as the Chair of that institution from 2012 to 2023. [Bahá'í Canada 24 February 2023]

She had earned a medical degree at the age of 52 and practiced as a family and palliative-care physician.

In 1984 she became active in the nuclear disarmament movement and a member of the International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War Canada and co-wrote a book, Enough Blood Shed: 101 Solutions to Violence, Terror and War.

Awards she received over the years include the Queen Elizabeth II Golden Jubilee Medal from the Governor General, the Gandhi Prize, the Award of Excellence from Doctors of B.C. and, with Down, the 2019 Distinguished Achievement Award from the Canadians for a Nuclear Weapons Convention. [Condolences; Times Colonist 18 December 2022]

In addition, the National Assembly is pleased to convey the results of the election of its officers: Chair – Deloria Bighorn; Vice-chair – Ciprian Jauca; Treasurer – Mehran Anvari; Secretary – Karen McKye. [Bahá'í Canada 3 May 2022

The inspirational story of Richard St. Barbe Baker, aka the "Man of the Trees," The heritage documentary The Legacy of Saskatoon's Secret Forest tells the story of his remarkable life and achievements. Note there is a 15 minute version heritage documentary and a one hour long presentation with greetings from around the world. The 15 minute prequel film "Richard St. Barbe Baker Park" tells how the heritage documentary came to be. From roots in Saskatoon he went on to inspire tree planting and forest protection around the world. The International Tree Foundation, which he founded in 1922, is still active in 14 countries. Countless people motivated by him are environmental champions today. A companion curriculum describes his holistic world view, and his daring life of action on behalf of the earth.

From Saskatoon Star Phoenix
18 August 2021
thestarphoenix.remembering.ca/obituary/bruce-filson-1083051604:

The beloved soul of Bruce Kenneth Filson winged its flight from this earthly plane on August 13, 2021. Bruce, aged 68, was surrounded by family after fighting a sudden battle with aggressive cancer and associated complications. Dear father, husband, brother, son, and community member, Bruce "contained multitudes." His joie de vivre and the ever-present twinkle in his eye will not be quickly forgotten.

Born in 1952 in Saskatoon, Bruce was raised initially on a farm and then in the city. During his high school years at Evan Hardy Collegiate, he was elected co-leader of the student council and played football for the Hardy Souls, helping take the team to the provincial championship game. He remained a lifelong sports fan, following football, baseball, World Cup soccer, and Olympic and other sports, and he played golf into his final year.

Though he and his wife, Margaret Bremner, grew up mere blocks from one another and attended the same high school at the same time, they only truly met as undergraduate students when each joined the Bahá'í Faith. They married in 1978 and raised three daughters together (as well as a dog, two cats, three rabbits, and who knows how many fish).

Bruce studied French at the U of S and later earned a master's degree in Comparative Literature from Carleton University and a Bachelor of Education degree from the Université du Quebec à Rimouski. He was a language lover and gained skill with English, French, German, and Mandarin. In order to serve the needs of the international Bahá'í community and for his own edification he left Saskatchewan after university and moved to Rimouski, QC, then Montreal, and then the Ottawa area. He later left Canada for periods of time, living and working in China and Dominica. In his final years he had moved to Surrey, BC, to be nearer children and grandchildren.

Bruce had a diverse and colourful vocational life which, though it met with little financial success, was fulfilling and rich in every other respect. For a number of years, in Canada and in China, he taught high school and college-level English and French. But he also worked variously throughout the years as a writer, publisher, translator, salesman, and civil servant. He was a newspaperman in the perpetual year of 1886 at Upper Canada Village, a living history site in Ontario. In the early 1990s he co-founded and ran Nine Pines Publishing, remembered for its contributions to Bahá'í literature (notable works published include The Psychology of Spirituality by Dr. H.B. Danesh; Fires in Many Hearts, the memoir of Doris McKay; and poetry and prose by long-time Bahá'í pioneer to the Magdalen Islands, Larry Rowdon). Later he co-founded and founded small presses September House and September Pines as well. B.K. Filson was himself also a poet: his work was published in various journals and in two volumes (Angel Ruckus and Parallelograms); he led workshops and gave readings; and he was an active member of writers' groups in Ottawa, ON and Surrey, BC. He won an award for Excellence in Bahá'í Studies: Creative Writing from the Association of Bahá'í Studies and gave a reading of one of his long poems at an annual ABS conference.

More recently he was delighted and proud to have opened and owned King Me Boardgamery and Café in Saskatoon and, still more recently, run the online game shop Mr. Dice Guy. His fondness for tabletop games and good coffee, his commitment to building community, his desire to provide a gathering space for friends young and old, and his love of teaching and learning combined with his friendly demeanour meant that the establishment in 2017 and success of King Me constituted a professional and personal dream achieved.

Bruce's life as a Bahá'í, his dedicated service to the Cause of Bahá'u'lláh, was a hallmark and a guiding light to others. He joined the Faith in 1971 and travelled to Quebec, China, and Dominica to assist the Faith. He served as an elected member of Spiritual Assemblies in Rimouski, Montréal, Hull (now Gatineau), Osgoode (now amalgamated into Ottawa), and Saskatoon. He sometimes served as a delegate to the Bahá'í National Convention, once alongside his brother Gerald. He and Margaret also served as custodians of the Bahá'í Shrine in Montréal for five years, receiving Hand of the Cause Rúhíyyih Khánum in their suite during her visits to Canada.

Bruce is survived by his wife of 43 years, Margaret Bremner, brothers Glen (Luisa) and Gerald (Judy) and sister Mary Jane (Shane English), daughters Chloë (Robin Wilson), Lydia (Gregory Coles), and Veronica (Shahruz Moshtael), granddaughters Gavia, Ida, and Fern, and a baby grandson soon to arrive. He was predeceased by his eldest brother Robert in 2011.

Interrment and a memorial program will take place at 1 p.m. (PST; arrive at 12:45) on Friday, August 20 at Valley View Memorial Gardens in Surrey, BC. The program will be live-streamed for far-away mourners.

Published on August 18, 2021

The Continental Board of Counsellors appointed the following 26 Auxiliary Board members to serve in Canada. Those serving on the Propagation Board:

Mert Ozyonum, Atlantic Provinces
Betty Dai, Anthony Jjumba, Shawyun Refahi and Anisa Skuce-Newell in British Columbia
Lita Cameron, Elisa Cooper, Neda Farahmandpour, Caitlin Moore in Ontario
Maëlle Turbide in Québec
Dagmawit E. Habtemariam in Saskatchewan-Manitoba
Drew Erickson in Alberta

Alanna Robertson Vreeland in the Atlantic Provinces
Agazzi Abay Tsehaye, Nabih Ardekany, Navid Jaberi, Lori Mason in British Columbia
Ravin Appadoo, Rebecca Hamilton-Bachiu, Justin Kianfar, Bronwyn Naylor and Golbon Singh in Ontario
Mona Pirmoradi in Québec
Anis Sabet in Saskatchewan-Manitoba
Karolina Drabik and Shabnam Shakibaei in Alberta

The Counsellors expressed their love and gratitude to these distinguished friends who have served so faithfully and sacrificially and who will be relieved of this service as of 1 July 2021. They were: Sara Chesley, Sohayl Ghadirian, Alaleh Rohani, Robert M. Ngunjiri, Rhona Scoffield, Sophie Turbide, Stacey-Michelle Tekye, and Tahirih North. [Letter from the National Assembly to the Canadian community dated 16 June 2021 S113255]

Canadian Council of Imams is an organization of religious leadership of Imams (Sunni and Shi'ia), representing the Islamic Community in Canada. [Office of Public Information]

   After leaving a career in market development in the federal tourism agency that included postings in Sydney, Australia and St. John's, Newfoundland, Marlene served in the community development department of the Bahá'í National Centre in Thornhill, Ontario. Back in St. Marys, she devoted her life to working at the Stratford Shakespearean Festival, travelling and writing. She loved working as a Festival usher and, more recently, as a volunteer tour guide. Many of her trips involved Bahá'í service projects in destinations such as Cyprus, Ireland and Western Samoa and some quirky journeys such as travelling on a cargo ship from New York City to Chile and back.

   Marlene authored two biographies, Take My Love to the Friends: The Story of Laura R. Davis and Faithful Friends: Founding the Toronto Bahá'í Community 1919–1938, one play named Tabreez, several dramatic readings and essays and a dozen essays on Shakespeare plays. Joining a group of writers at the Desert Rose Bahá'í Institute in Arizona for annual winter gatherings, she co-founded the "Write Life", an annual writers' retreat, serving as a co-facilitator for two years. Marlene was named the first Writer in Residence at Desert Rose.

   For a list of Marlen's Dramatic Readings see Bahá'í Library.

This publication marked the end of the reliance of the Maison d'éditions bahá'íes in Brussels for their excellent work in the translation/publication of the sacred text for French speaking believers in Canada.

A second revised edition was published in 2022.

• His mother, Lucie Menarik Ekomiak, passed away while he was a small child and he was adopted by Aunt Martha and Uncle Thomas Ekoomiak.
• He was educated at St. Phillip's Anglican school in Fort George (Chisasibi), located further south on James Bay.
• Billie was one of the first two Inuk in the world to become a Bahá'í. He first heard about the Faith in the home of Arthur and Lilianne Irwin in Ottawa and enrolled as a follower of Bahá'u'llláh at a Naw-Rúz party in 1965 in Beau Lac along with his cousin, Johnny Weetaltuk.
• He trained as an electrician in Winnipeg and assisted in the building of the Bahá'í Houses in both Baker Lake and in Iqaluit.
• For a history of the Ekomiak (or Ekoomiak) family see Speechless by Maureen Flynn-Burhoe.
• Billie felt his life's mission was to share the news of Bahá'u'lláh with Indigenous Peoples and he crisscrossed Canada and the United States offering firesides that wove together the teachings of the Faith with First Nations' prophecies and spiritual insights. His most memorable presentation was at the International Teaching Conference in Anchorage in 1976. [from the announcement of his passing by the Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of La Pêche]
• In the early 1970's the CBC contracted musicians to produce 45-RPM discs for its Northern Service. Billy was one of the 75 musicians recorded. [Encyclopedia of Native American Music of North America p248]
• An example of Billy's fiddle playing can be viewed on YouTube. It was recorded at an event in Wakefield.
• A talk has been recorded and presented on YouTube.iiiii
• See Report/Memoirs of Bill Ekomiak.

The Board also expressed their heartfelt appreciation to Mr. Bruce Moore and Mrs. Donna Seyed Mahmoud whose term of service as Deputy Trustees has concluded. [letter from the NSA dated 8 December 2020]

He was a member of the National Spiritual Assembly of Canada from 1960 to 1985 and served the last twenty years as the general secretary. In 1985. He was appointed director-general of the Bahá'í International Community's Office of Public Information at the World Centre. He served in that capacity until 1993 when he was elected to the Universal House of Justice. He retired from the House of Justice in 2005 due to considerations of age and related needs of the Faith. [BWNS1455]

• His major publications were:
  • The Violence Free-Society: A Gift for Our Children. Bahá'í Studies. Vol. 6. 1979.
  • Unity: The Creative Foundation of Peace. Bahá'í Studies Publications, Ottawa 1986.
  • The Psychology of Spirituality. Paradigm Publishing, Manotick, Ontario 1994.
  • The Violence Free Family. Building Block of a Peaceful Civilization. Bahá'í Studies Publications, Ottawa, Canada 1995.
  • Conflict-Free Conflict Resolution (CFCR): Process and Methodology. with Roshan Danesh. Journal of Peace and Conflict Studies, Vol. 11, No. 2, Fall. (March 21, 2004).
  • Unity of Faith and Reason in Action 2010.
  • The Unity-Based Family. An Empirical Study of Healthy Marriage, Family, and Parenting. H.B. Danesh, MD, FRCP(C), with Azin Nasseri, PhD. Cambridge Scholars Publishing; 1 edition (1 April 2017). It was illustrated by Katia Breton.
  • The Mysterious Case of the IWs: A Story to Help Children Cope with Death Published by Efp-International Press (April 16 2012).
• For a more complete list see his website.
• Documents by Hossain Danesh on Bahai-library.com.
• YouTube.
• See His website.
• See article by his son Roshan Danesh about the passing of his father and his son. [Times Colonist 30 July 2020] iiiii

• Of specific interests were stories of the positive influences of the following groups on individuals, communities and the general public: The "Mozart Group" (1967-1969); The "Multimedia Environment" Proclamation Team (1969-1970); and "Jalál" (1970-1973). [Bahá'í Canada 28 February 2020]

The Office of Public Affairs works on a range of topics and issues that are related to the well-being of Canadian society. Many of these issues fall within one of our areas of focus, which are broad domains in which we try to build relationships, develop content, and create opportunities for learning and dialogue that can eventually contribute to public policy.The areas of focus are: Citizenship and Diversity, Reconciliation, Religion in Public Life, Gender Equality as well as The Role of Youth in Society and Relationship with the Environment.

The Office also communicates with the Canadian government regarding the ongoing persecution of Baha'is in Iran and Yemen.

The site also hosts a document library with official statements and reports produced by the Office. [CBNS]

• Plenary session recordings of past sessions are available for free streaming and downloading on the ABS Vimeo page.
• Photos.

• The cover has the image of a beaded necklace with an eagle on it. It includes prayers on courage, generosity, honour, humility, respect, thankfulness, and trust. "It is very common amongst many of the Indigenous peoples across Canada to think of their major teachings in terms of seven virtues as seven is considered to be one of the sacred numbers often used," said Deloria Bighorn, who helped to create the prayer book.
• To help readers of the prayers to pronounce the Hul'q'umi'num' words, videos were created of a number of elders reciting the prayers. The prayer book includes QR codes that link to YouTube videos of each prayer being recited. The prayers were originally translated by a team of the family of Robert George, a Cowichan Baha'i who comes from a family of Hul'q'umi'num' speakers.

From the windswept Canadian prairies to the cities and villages of Europe and North Africa, Shar Mitchell's search for meaning and purpose ultimately led her to embrace the Bahá'í Faith. In this unselfconsciously honest memoir, she explores life's changes and chances—from her youthful exploration of new places and ideas to her experiences with love, marriage and loss. After her first marriage ended in divorce, she met and married her "bridegroom from Baghdad", Redwan Moqbel. Born to a poor Bahá'í family in a dusty border town between Iran and Iraq, he was an internationally-renowned medical scientist by the time he and Shar married. But his own life wasn't without tribulation. Iraq, a country that persecuted its Bahá'i minority, sentenced Redwan to life in prison in absentia and jailed his mother for many years. Shar's dream of meeting her courageous in-laws would finally come true because of a catastrophic health crisis—Redwan's difficult battle with cancer. Revealing the facets of a life equally shaped by curiosity, hardship and faith, The Bridegroom from Baghdad is an inspiriting window into facing even the most difficult challenges with courage, acceptance, and resilience.

• Bani Dugal: "The Equality of Women and Men: Divine Imperative for an Age of Transition."
• Hugh Locke: "Half the Sky, Half the Land: The Role of Women Farmers in Transforming Agriculture,"

Hugh Locke is president and co-founder of the Smallholder Farmers Alliance (SFA), a non-profit working with small-scale family farmers to help feed and reforest a renewed Haiti. He is author of The Haiti Experiment, and writes and lectures extensively on smallholder farming and sustainable development. Earlier in his career Hugh was director of the Office of Public Information at the Baha'i International Community in New York and served as a member of the program committee for the 1992 Baha'i World Congress. He was mentored by forester and environmentalist Richard St. Barbe Baker (1889 – 1982), established the Baker archives at the University of Saskatchewan, and continues to serve as literary trustee.
• Payam Akhavan: "Equality and Justice, Global Perspectives" and "Countering War, Hate, and Violence Assembly."
• Emily Wright: "Making Interreligious Chaplaincy Education Meaningfully Inclusive" and "A New Cup of Grace—A Ukulele Opera
• Hooshmand Badee: "Interfaith Peacemaking Perspectives from Across the World."
• Nader Saiedi: Presenting the new documentary film The Gate: Dawn of the Bahá'í Faith.
• Paul Hanley: "Man of the Trees: Richard St. Barbe Baker, the First Global Environmentalist."
• JoAnn Borovicka: "Amazing Faiths! An Interactive Workshop on Interfaith Dialogue."
• Robert Atkinson: "New Thoughts in Interfaith Spirituality."
• Robert Stockman: "The Characteristics of Bahá'í Interfaith Dialogue." Candace Hill: "From Shiraz to Chicago: Bahá'í Women of the East and the West"
• Edward Price: "The Divine Curriculum: Understanding the Báb, Divine Educator for the Modern Era."
• Sovaida Maani Ewing: "Achieving World Peace: Bahá'í and Catholic Teachings."
• Jean Muza: "Bahá'í Civic Engagement: How to Maneuver in America's Divisive Political Landscape."
• Robert Atkinson: "The Golden Rule as the Basis for a Global Justice System: An Interfaith Perspective with a Call to Action."
• Edward Price: "The Divine Curriculum Concept as a Framework for Interfaith Inclusion and Love." [CBN-Preparation; CBN-Inclusion; CBN-Films]

  The Hindu Swami Agnivesh said that instead of spending trillions of dollars on the war system, the peoples of the world need to unite and create a world parliament based on an Earth Constitution. He said that "without a world government, we cannot solve our major world problems." [Black News 6Feb2022]

Richard St. Barbe Baker was an inspirational visionary and pioneering environmentalist who is credited with saving and planting billions of trees. He saved lives, too, through his ceaseless global campaign to raise the alarm about deforestation and desertification and by finding effective, culturally sensitive ways for people to contribute to a more peaceful and greener world. He was also an Edwardian eccentric whose obsession with trees caused him to neglect his family; the devout son of an evangelical preacher who became a New Age hero; an unapologetic colonial officer fired for defending indigenous Africans; a forester who rarely had a steady income; a failed entrepreneur and inventor; a proud soldier and peace activist; a brilliant writer, speaker, and raconteur who made wild claims about the effectiveness of his conservation efforts. His encounters with historical figures like FDR, Nehru, and George Bernard Shaw are eye-popping, as were his accomplishments.

She and her husband, Dr Mirza Javid, had been residents in the Hamilton area since 1968 when he was employed by the public health department. Prior to that they had lived in Montreal where they had settled when they first arrived in Canada in 1966. Aghdas was famous in the Hamilton area for her Friday night firesides which she held faithfully, sometimes attracting as many as 80 attendees.

In 2001, she was chosen to be among a group of Canadian Baha'is — part of 4,500 from around the world — to travel to Israel to witness the opening of a kilometre-long series of garden terraces surrounding the Bahá'í temple on Mount Carmel. [Bahá'í Canada Vol 14 Issue 3]

Every year she would hold a tea to which she invited local dignitaries. [Bahá'í Canada Vol 16 Issue 1 May 2003 p31]

She had been predeceased by her husband in in 1999. She left children Sussan, Ladan and Jasmine, four granddaughters, one grandson, one great-grandson and family in Iran, England, Germany and Brazil. [Hamilton Spectator; Dignity Memorial]

The neighbourhood of Greenboro had been a centre of intense activity since 2014, with high receptivity. When the renting of facilities to accommodate these activities on an ad-hoc basis became impractical, the National Spiritual Assembly approved the rental of a former commercial space. Volunteers worked tirelessly to renovate the property to suit the activities that would take place there. This initiative was made possible because of the the National Assembly's Community Properties Fund. [Bahá'í Canada 2019-03-27]

Canada is poised to reconcile its centuries-long fraught history with Indigenous peoples and to establish justice. What fundamental spiritual principles should guide this challenging process and bring together peoples who have been separated for so long?

In this part-memoir, part-scholarly work, Patricia Verge records her decades-long friendship with the Stoney Nakoda Nation in southern Alberta. She explores how her spiritual journey has been intimately entwined with service among Indigenous people and confronts her own ignorance of the true history of Canada, taking for her guidance this quote from the writings of the Bahá'í Faith: "a massive dose of truth must be administered to heal."

An engaging and timely work, Equals and Partners is ultimately a story of love and commitment to the principle of the oneness of humanity.

In 1919 a small and diverse group of people in Toronto, Ontario accepted the teachings of a new divine educator, Bahá'ú'lláh. During the next nineteen years, they kept the flame of faith alive until achieving the major milestone of electing the first local governing body of their Bahá'í community. Faithful Friends documents the trajectory of a faith community building its Bahá'í identity.

The Community Properties Fund were intended to provide the ongoing material resources necessary for this advancement. The National Spiritual Assembly contributed an initial $2.5 million to this Fund, and called on the community to match this amount over the remainder of the current Five Year Plan. Returns from this sum will then generate funds allocated to community properties. [Bahá'í Canada 2019-03-27

He earned his BA and two master's degrees in Oregon and Chicago where he became a Bahá'í. Ted met his wife Joan Storie at the Bahá'í House of Worship in Chicago. They married in 1951 and pioneered to Whitehorse in 1953 where they earned the title, Knights of Bahá'u'lláh. During their time in the Yukon they were adopted by the Tlingit First Nations of Carcross-Tagish. In 1965 Ted was appointed as an Auxiliary Board Member for Alaska by Zikrullah Khadem and served in that capacity along with Howard Brown.

Ted and Joanie relocated to Red Deer, Alberta in 1972 and Joanie passed away in 2000. [Bahaipedia; CBN 410 p5; Find a grave]

Professor Cotler was the Director of the Human Rights program in the Law Faculty at the University of McGill and was a Member of Parliament from 1999 until 2015. During this time he served as Justice Minister from 2003-2006.

After his retirement from public life Mr Cotler founded the Raoul Wallenberg Centre for Human Rights. [CBNS 27 Sep 2016]

In late 2022 the film First to Stand: The Cases and Causes of Irwin Cotler was released. It was written, directed and produced by Irene Lilienheim Angelicco and Abbey Jack Neidik and follows international human rights lawyer Irwin Cotler and his team of young activists at the Raoul Wallenberg Centre as they take on the cases and causes of political prisoners and human rights activists including Raif Badawi and Shaparak Shajarizadeh, battling against the world's most repressive regimes.

Tending the Garden is a biography of Rosemary and Emeric Sala who became Baha'is in Montreal at a time when there were some sixty members in all of Canada. It is told in the Sala's words, using excerpts of letters and papers spanning the years 1926 to 1990. Included is correspondence to and from Shoghi Effendi, Ruhiyyih Khanum, May and Sutherland Maxwell, among many others.

• In December of the same year they announced the new term of service for the Board of Trustees of Huqúqu'lláh in Canada and added an additional member with the appointment of Dr. Faran Vafaie as Deputy Trustee member of the Board of Trustees. [BCNS31Dec2017]

He was survived by his wife Dr. Marion Woodman, an internationally-known author and psychoanalyst, who passed away in 2018. [CBNS 27 March 2014]

A film called Rebel Angel was made about their marriage.

For nearly forty years Mr Woodman was Professor in the Department of English at the University of Western Ontario, where he taught Romantic literature, until his retirement in 1989. In 1993 he received the Distinguished Scholar Award from the Keats-Shelley Association of America.

His publications include: The Apocalyptic Vision in the Poetry of Percy Bysshe Shelley and a book about celebrated Canadian poet and fellow-professor at the University of Western Ontario, James Reaney.

Mr Woodman contributed several articles to The Journal of Bahá'í Studies.

• For the text see Submission of the Bahá'í Community of Canada to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission or download PDF.
• The Bahá'í community also produced a short film, The Path Home, which it screened in Ottawa in association with the final national gathering.

It is an inspiring collection of thirty-seven personal stories of elder Bahá'ís whose commitment and service laid the foundations of the Bahá'í Faith around the world.

Fred Graham was a man of humble beginnings who met trials and tests with an indomitable spirit and emerged as one of the foremost Canadian Baha'i servants in the time following the turmoil of the Great Depression and the Second World War. In the words of the Universal House of Justice, Fred Graham became a "devoted servant," an "inspiring teacher" and an "exemplary believer".

At Ridván 2016, with the start of the new Five Year Plan, Darlene Cameron was invited to serve with Gregory on the new Area Teaching Committee.,

Beginning with their childhood years, this is the story of May Bolles and Sutherland Maxwell; their youth, their meeting and courtship in Paris; their marriage;their first pilgrimages; the birth of their daughter and the historic visit of 'Abdu'l-Bahá to their home in Montreal in 1912.

The second volume The Maxwells of Montreal: Vol 2: Middle Years 1923-1937, Late Years 1937-1952 was published by George Ronald in 2012. It appears that it is only available in the Kindle edition.

Completing the story of the Maxwells, including the pilgrimages of May and Mary Maxwell in the early years of the Guardian's ministry; their contributions to the advancement of the Bahá'í Faith in Canada, the United States, France and Germany; the marriage of Mary Maxwell to Shoghi Effendi; and Sutherland Maxwell's crowning achievement as architect of the Shrine of the Báb.

Beth, a teacher by training, has taught English in Arizona, China, Japan, and Sakhalin Island, then pioneered to Nunavut where she, among many other things, started a painting project, "The Arctic Youth Art initiative," which has reached youth in many Inuit settlements and led to her winning this award.

She first learned of the Faith from Val (Mrs Hayden Nichols neé Valeria Lamb in Lisbon in 1948. Val had been taught by Beulah Storrs Lewis in 1936 in Los Angeles. [DRDA157]

She pioneered to her native Hungary, Säo Paulo, Brazil, various place in Canada and spent three and a half years in Martinique.

In 1995 she published her first autobiography, it was in Hungarian. Her English autobiography was called Dreams, Nightmares, and Dreams Again and it was published in 2000 by White Mountain Publications. [DNDA76]

Her Master's thesis at Laval University was A proposed world order: Baha'i teachings and Institutions 1968. [DRDA120,144]

Gale was a member of the Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of Milton and formerly lived in Shelburne and in Saskatoon.

She was the mother of Dr. Susan G. Burland (George T. Plumb of Hinsdale, Ill.), Anne L. Burland of Albany, N.Y., and William B. Burland of Saskatoon. [from the Halifax Herald 10/18/2007]

• For a biography see Sole Desire Service Cause An Odyssey of Bahá'í Service: Gale and Jameson Bond by Don Brown published by George Ronald.

His wife Allison, (b.1942 on the Siksika Reserve), was given the name, "One Who Likes Victory." The Healy family have represented their Fist Nation at the Calgary Stampede Village and took an active role in the activities.

Sharing their culture both at home and abroad has become a way of life for the Healys. World travellers, they have taken their traditional culture and spiritual beliefs to such widely-scattered places as Siberia, India, New Zealand, Scandinavia, St. Lucia and Dominica, and Greenland. On their overseas trips, Allison and Earl often meet with aboriginal people. They found similar concerns everywhere, such as the loss of indigenous languages and the need to teach them to the young people. Some of the cultures have lost their dances and are trying to bring them back. [IndigenousBahais.com]

What is the function of the Regional Bahá'í Councils?

The primary responsibility of Regional Councils at this time is to support and guide the work of expansion and consolidation in cluster after cluster. Not only does this require them to interact directly with training institutes, Area Teaching Committees, and Local Spiritual Assemblies operating in their respective regions, they must also function in close collaboration with the Counsellors and their auxiliaries …Regional Councils gather and analyze essential information, ensure the efficient use of financial resources, and arrange for the dispatch of homefront pioneers. Moreover, they maintain regular communication with the friends in their regions, keeping them apprised of the progress of plans and facilitating the rapid dissemination of lessons learned. – February 22, 2012 Letter written on behalf of the Universal House of Justice

The House of Justice highlights, among other things, the need for Councils to pay close attention to the operation of the regional institute, including the scheme of coordination the institute establishes at the level of the cluster. The Councils must ensure, too, the timely appearance and dynamic functioning of Area Teaching Committees. The discharge of these duties, carried out with the assistance of the Counsellors and their auxiliaries, will serve to foster the participation of increasing numbers of the friends in a rising number of programs of growth--and this, in turn, conduces to the sound development of the individual, the community, and the institutions. — August 9, 2012 Universal House of Justice to the National Spiritual Assembly of the United States

• He served on the National Spiritual Assemblies of Switzerland (1962-65), Canada (1983-91) and the Russian Federation (1996).
• He was an associate professor of mathematics at the University of Toledo for three years before coming to Canada in 1968 with his wife Judith. He served as professor of mathematics at the Université Laval until 1995.
• He was appointed to the first Board of Trustees of the Huqúqu'lláh for Canada in November of 1991. [CBNJan92 p2; 14 November, 1991]
• He was the author of vast number of articles and books including, Logic and Logos (1990), Love, Power and Justice (1998), and The Bahá'í Faith, The Emerging Global Religion (co-authored with Douglas Martin). [BWNS416, BW05-06p240-241]
• The Universal House of Justice wrote in tribute: "The Bahá'í world has lost one of its brightest minds, one of its most prolific pens. He will long be remembered for his stalwart faith, forceful exposition, and penetrating insights."
• The family of Dr. Hatcher built an on-line repository of his collected works. Contributions of recordings of his talks or other works by William Hatcher can be submitted for consideration for the site by using the contact form.

Abstract: This bi-lingual collection of stories presents a unique treasure for members and friends of the Baha'i Faith who are interested in history of the Faith as well as the important art of storytelling. The accounts recorded in this volume have been carefully translated into English from the original Persian and Arabic and include accounts by and about: The beloved Master 'Abdu'l-Baha, Haji Mirza Haydar 'Ali, Dr. Zia Baghdadi, Dr. Yunis Afrukhtih, 'Ali Akbar Furutan, Adib Tahirzadih, Abul-Qasim Faizi and other dearly-loved and historic figures.

• See Bahá'í Chronicles.

The book was written in response to the message from the Universal House of Justice dated 1 September 1983.

Holding a musical concert outdoors was not like doing it with the natural acoustics of a hall. To counter wind noise, wind socks had to be fitted on all the microphones on all of the instruments of the orchestra and then reverberation and other effects added on a mixing console.

Other Canadians who participated in the musical tribute were mezzo-soprano Patricia Green, tenor Stuart Howe and baritone Brett Polegato. [BWNS118; BWNS120]

The main focus of the evening was a theatrical performance entitled A Life So Noble, which had been inspired by Ruhiyyih Khanum's life. Written by Canadian-born actress/writer Beverley Evans and directed by Annabel Knight, the show took four major aspects of Khanum's life and character and personified them in four women actresses, Maria Friedman, Beverley Evans, Sarah Clive and Kerry-Ann Smith, who told her story using words taken from Ruhiyyih Khanum's own lectures and writings.[BWNS124]

The first Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of the new city of Gatineau was elected at Ridván 2001. Those elected were Laylee Rohani Delaney, Pierre Austin, Ruth Vanderstelt, Bernard Cardin, Peter Brady, Muguette Brady, Alain Robitaille, Pamela Stellick and Patrick Marshall.

Her greatest love was teaching the Native people of Canada and Greenland. She travelled to Australia, Europe, Southeast Asia and attended the dedication of the Houses of Worship in the the United States, Samoa and in India. [BW28p309]

This autobiographical account by this extraordinary lady spans from the early days of World War II as the wife of a diplomat in Portugal, to her later years as a Bahá'í pioneer in Brazil, Martinque, and Canada. Of Hungarian origin and education, she brings a unique view of her life, and of the Bahá'í Faith.