Bahai Library Online

Chronology of the Bahá'í Faith in Canada

World Canada
any   all   exact phrase

Date 201-, ascending sort latest first

date event tags firsts
2011 - 2016
201-
Third Five Year Plan Third Five Year Plan; - Teaching Plans
2011 (In the year)
201-
The publication of Return to Tyendinaga: The Story of Jim and Melba Loft, Bahá'í Pioneers by Evelyn Loft Watts and Patricia Verge. It was published by One Voice Press of Essex, Maryland.
  • See a review by Lee Brown.
  • See a review by Louise Profit-LeBanc that was published in The Journal of Bahá'í Studies Vol 24 Issue 3/4 (Sep-Dec2014) p107-109.
  • Evelyn Loft Watts; Patricia Verge; Tyendinaga First Nation, ON
    2011 (In the year)
    201-
    The publication of The Maxwells of Montreal Vol 1 - Early Years 1870–1922 by Violette Nakhjavani with the assistance of Bahiyyih Nakhjavani. It was published by George Ronald of Oxford.
      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.
    Bahiyyih Nakhjavani; Violette Nakhjavani; The Maxwells of Montreal
    2011 Ridván
    201-
    Gregory Newing served as the Area Teaching Committee for the Outaouais Cluster during the Five Year Plan (2011-2016) while serving simultaneously as the Outaouais Cluster Development Facilitator.

    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.,

    Outaouais Cluster; Gregory Newing; Darlene Cameron
    2012 (In the year)
    201-
    There were 400 Baha'is in the Edmonton Baha'i community representing "a wide variety of races, cultures and social classes. [Edmonton History] Statistics; Edmonton, AB
    2013 (In the year)
    201-
    The publication of An Uncommon Canadian: The Story of Fred Graham by Dale Sims The book can be ordered directly from the publisher's website.

    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".

    Fred Graham; Dale Sims; Auxiliary board members
    2013 (In the year)
    201-
    The publication of Bright Glass of the Heart - Elder Voices on Faith by Heather Cardin. The book was published by George Ronald.
      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.
    Bright Glass of the Heart; Heather Cardin
    2013 24 Jul
    201-
    The Universal House of Justice addressed a message the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of Canada regarding the Association for Bahá'í Studies. The Universal House of Justice reiterated a number of issues that the Association had addressed since its inception in 1975:
    -an appreciation for the importance of personal study of the Revelation,
    -correlating the teachings with contemporary thought,
    -defending the Cause,
    -encouraging young believers in their academic pursuits,
    -attracting the interest and involvement of non-Bahá'í academics to the extent possible, a
    -providing a forum for Bahá'í academics to collaborate with one another, thereby helping to raise capacity among those who participate within a wide range of disciplines and, particularly, in specific fields associated more directly with the study of the Faith, such as history, the study of religion, and translation.
    Bahá'í Studies, Associations for; Canada
    2013 13 Aug
    201-
    The passing of former Universal House of Justice member Mr. Hushmand Fatheazam in Vancouver, Canada. He served on the Universal House of Justice for forty years since 1963. [BWNS964]
  • See Life of Hushmand Fatheazam as told by Fariborz Sahba.
  • Hushmand Fatheazam; - In Memoriam; Vancouver, BC
    2013 20 Sep
    201-
    Deloria Bighorn, chairperson of the National Spiritual Bahá'ís of Canada, presented, on behalf of the Bahá'í Community of Canada, a submission to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission at the BC National Event held in Vancouver from September 18th to the 21st. The formal presentation followed a panel organized by the Canadian Bahá'í Community and Reconciliation Canada. The previous week 250 people listened to Chief Doug White, Chief Dr. Robert Joseph, and Dr. Paulette Regan from the Commission discussing the challenge of reconciliation. [T&R website, CBN 24 September, CBN 9 February, 2018, BWNS1248]
  • 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.
  • Native Americans; - Indigenous people; Reconciliation; Cultural diversity; Human rights; - Documentaries; - Film; The Path Home (film); Vancouver, BC
    2013 9 Oct
    201-
    The passing of Redwan Moqbel in Winnipeg. He was recruited to the Department of Medicine, University of Alberta as a Professor in 1995 and served as the Director of the Pulmonary Research Group. There he received such prestigious awards as Alberta Heritage Medical Senior Scholar, Heritage Scientist and Heritage Senior Investigator. In 2008, Redwan became Professor and Head of the Department of Immunology at the University of Manitoba, and Professor Emeritus at the University of Alberta. He was well recognized for his mentorship of young biomedical scientists, whom he encouraged to adopt "a noble goal." [Winnipeg Free Press]
  • Celebration of Life.
  • - In Memoriam; Redwan Moqbel; Winnipeg, MB
    2014 1 Apr 
    201-
    Allison Healy, a residential school survivor and member of the Bahá'í community of the Kainai First Nation, Alberta, spoke regarding the Truth and Reconciliation Commission's final national event in Edmonton, "The truths have been told, we all have learned about the horrible truths; now we really have to move forward to reconciliation and act." [CBNS. 2014]. "Truth and Reconciliation Commission's final National Event concludes in Edmonton." Canadian Bahá'í News Service. Edmonton, Alberta). Allison Healy; Truth and Reconciliation Commission; Kainai First Nation, AB; Edmonton, AB
    2014 20 Mar
    201-
    The passing of Dr Ross Woodman, (b. 28 November 1922 Port William, Nova Scotia), at his home in London, ON. He was a member of the first National Spiritual Assembly of Canada when it was elected in 1948. He was interred at the Mount Pleasant Cemetery in London. [Find a grave]

    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.

    Ross Woodman; - In Memoriam; National Spiritual Assembly; London, ON
    2014 24 Apr
    201-
    The members elected to serve on the National Spiritual Assembly were Karen McKye, Mehran Anvari, Deloria Bighorn, Enayat Rawhani, Susanne Tamás, Hoda Farahmandpour, Judy Filson, Ciprian Jauca and Élizabeth Wright. The National Assembly's Chair Ms. Bighorn; Vice-Chair, Ms. Wright; Secretary, Ms. McKye; and Treasurer, Dr. Anvari. [Message]
  • Message to the delegates from the National Spiritual Assembly.
  • Message from the Board of Trustees of Huqúqu'lláh to the National Convention delivered by Donna Seyed Mahmoud.
  • The 157 delegates to Canada's 66th National Convention met at the Toronto Bahá'í Centre. See report and photo.
  • National Spiritual Assembly, election of; Karen McKye; Mehran Anvari; Deloria Bighorn; Enayat Rawhani; Susanne Tamas; Hoda Farahmandpour; Judy Filson; Ciprian Jauca; Elizabeth Wright; Donna Seyed Mahmoud; Toronto, ON
    2015 27 Jan
    201-
    The National Spiritual Assembly of Canada announced the names of the Members of the Board of Trustees of Huqúqu'lláh for Canada and Saint Pierre and Miquelon. The members were: Mr. Bruce Moore, Mrs. Donna Seyed Mahmoud, Mrs. Nasrin Neyestani and Dr. Abdu'l-Missagh Ghadirian.
  • 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]
  • Huqúqu'lláh; Huququllah, Board of Trustees of; Bruce Moore; Donna Seyed Mahmoud; Nasrin Neyestani; `Abdu'l-Missagh Ghadirian; Toronto, ON
    2015 10 Feb
    201-
    The passing of William (Bill) Skuce (b. 30 August 1935 in Ottawa) in his home in Sooke, BC. He was an artist and a teacher. He and his family spent many years in the north of Canada. He was survived by his wife Houri, daughter Anisa (Andrew) and granddaughter Ahdiyeh. [Times Colonist] Bill Skuce; Houri Skuce; Anisa Skuce; - In Memoriam; Sooke, BC; Ottawa, ON
    2015 20 Feb
    201-
    The National Spiritual Assembly of Canada announced the names of the five members appointed by the International Board of Trustees of Huqúqu'lláh to serve on the Board of Trustees for Canada and Saint Pierre and Miquelon, with a three-year term of service, commencing 1 December 2014.
  • Those appointed were: Dr. Abdu'l-Missagh Ghadirian, Mr. Bruce William Moore, Ms. Nasrin Neyestani, Mrs. Donna Ann Marie Seyed Mahmoud, Mrs. Shabnam Tashakour.
  • In its letter to the National Spiritual Assembly announcing these appointments, the International Board of Trustees of Huqúqu'lláh shared the following regarding their service:
  • The primary function of a Board of Trustees is to educate the friends on the spiritual significance of the mighty law of Huqúqu'lláh, enabling them to better appreciate that obedience to this law is "bound to attract divine confirmations, heavenly blessings and incalculable favours, and to promote the manifold interests of the International Bahá'í Community. [CBNS20150220]
  • Huqúqu'lláh; Huququllah, Board of Trustees of; `Abdu'l-Missagh Ghadirian; Bruce William Moore; Nasrin Neyestani; Donna Seyed Mahmoud; Shabnam Tashakour; Toronto, ON
    2015 24 - 27 Apr
    201-
    The 67th annual National Convention was held in Toronto. Those elected to the National Spiritual Assembly were: Karen McKye (secretary), Mehran Anvari (treasurer), Deloria Bighorn (chair), Enayat Rawhani, Susanne Tamas, Hoda Farahmandpour, Judy Filson, Ciprian Jauca and Élizabeth Wright (vice chair). [Bahá'í Canada 1 May 2015] National Convention; National Spiritual Assembly, election of; Toronto, ON
    2016 - 2021
    201-
    Fourth Five Year Plan Fourth Five Year Plan; - Teaching Plans
    2016 (In the year)
    201-
    The publication of Tending the Garden: A Biography of Emeric and Rosemary Sala by Ilona Weinstein. It was published One Voice Press of Essex Maryland.

    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.

  • Facebook Page.
  • Bahá'í Blog.
  • Ilona Weinstein; Tending the Garden
    2016 23 - 25 April
    201-
    The 68th annual National Convention was held in Calgary; Those elected to serve on the National Spiritual Assembly were: Enayat Rawhani, Mehran Anvari, Karen McKye, Gerald Filson, Ciprian Jauca, Deloria Bighorn, Judy Filson, Élizabeth Wright and Hoda Farahmandpour. [Bahá'í Canada 27 April 2016]
  • Letter from the National Convention to the Universal House of Justice.
  • The National Convention was addressed Counsellor Antonella Demonte from the International Teaching Centre.
  • National Convention; National Spiritual Assembly, election of; Calgary, AB
    2016 Apr
    201-
    From this time forward the Board of Trustees for the Huqúqu'lláh had representation at the National Conventions, National Convention
    2016 Jul
    201-
    The publication of A Love That Could Not Wait: The Remarkable Story of Knights of Bahá'u'lláh Catherine Heward Huxtable and Clifford Huxtable by Jack McLean. It was published by One Voice Press in Essex Maryland.
  • This is the remarkable story of the love, marriage and pioneering exploits of Cliff and Catherine Huxtable, Knights of Bahá'u'lláh to the Gulf Islands and pioneers to St Helena Island, a goal of the Ten Year Crusade.
  • The book is available in pdf and Word format on Jack's website.
  • Jack McLean; Wes Huxtable; Catherine Heward; Catherine Huxtable; - Knights of Bahá'u'lláh; Regina, SK; Salt Spring Island, BC; St. Helena
    2016 4 Aug
    201-
    In a letter to National Spiritual Assemblies, communities were encouraged to establish electoral units on the basis of the cluster. The population of the country is divided by the number of National Convention delegates allowed by the Universal House of Justice to determine the number of electors per delegate. [from UNIT CONVENTION PLANNING GUIDE 2021 provided by the National Office]
  • See 21 July 1985.
  • Elections; * Bahá'í World Centre
    2016 7 Sep
    201-
    The National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of Canada paid tribute to Professor Irwin Cotler at the Reception Centre of the Bahá'í Shrine in Montreal. They expressed the gratitude of the Bahá'í community for his unwavering defence of the Bahá'ís in Iran over more than 25 years in public life and presented him with a beautiful piece of Arabic calligraphy – the second of Bahá'u'lláh's "Hidden Words" – that highlights justice as "the best beloved of all things in My sight".

    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.

    Montreal, QC
    2017 (In the Year)
    201-
    The publication of Sole Desire Serve Cause: An Odyssey of Bahá'í Service: Gale and Jameson Bond by Don Brown. It was published by George Ronald Publishers. Jameson Bond; Gale Bond; - Knights of Bahá'u'lláh
    2017 30 Apr
    201-
    In his address to the Canadian National Convention on behalf of the Board of Trustees of Huqúqu'lláh for Canada, Dr A-M Ghadirian stated that there were 1,115 Representatives and Deputy Trustees worldwide in 31 National and Regional Boards of Trustees. Huqúqu'lláh; Huququllah, Trustees of; Statistics; `Abdu'l-Missagh Ghadirian; Toronto, ON
    2017 21 Sep
    201-
    The passing of Raymond Theodore (Ted) Anderson (b. 5 August 1924 Mount Horb, WN) in Innisfail, AB. [Find a grave]

    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]

  • See mention of the Andersons in A New Skin for an Old Drum: Changing Contexts of Yukon Aboriginal Bahá'í Storytelling by Lynn Echevarria.
  • See as well The Yukon Bahá'is: Establishing an Archive of Historical Materials and First Nations Life Histories by Lynn Echevarria.
  • Ted Anderson; Joan Anderson; Joanie Anderson; - In Memoriam; Auxiliary board members; Howard Brown; Tlingit; Lynn Echevarria; Mount Horeb, WI; Whitehorse, YT; Innisfail, AB; - Knights of Bahá'u'lláh
    2017 1 Dec
    201-
    The International Board of Trustees of Huqúqu'lláh announced the appointment of the new Board of Trustees of Huqúqu'lláh to serve in Canada, Saint Pierre and Miquelon. Those appointed to the three-year term were: Mr. Bahram Gustaspi, Mr. John MacLeod, Mr. Bruce Moore, Mrs. Donna Seyed Mahmoud and Dr. Faran Vafaie.
  • The primary function of a Board of Trustees is to educate the friends on the spiritual significance of the mighty law of Ḥuqúqu'lláh, enabling them to better appreciate that obedience to this law is "bound to attract divine confirmations, heavenly blessings and incalculable favours, and to promote the manifold interests of the International Bahá'í Community". [Letter from the NSA to the Bahá'ís of Canada 7 December 2017]
  • Photo.
  • Huququllah, Trustees of; Bahram Gustaspi; John MacLeod; Bruce Moore; Donna Seyed Mahmoud; Faran Vafaie; Canada; St. Pierre and Miquelon
    2017 7 Dec
    201-
    In its letter to all Local Spiritual Assemblies the National Spiritual Assembly introduced the Community Properties Fund, "to be established to support the acquisition, maintenance and use of properties at all levels of the community," including possibilities such as facilities with residential space "dedicated to all forms of educational activity, offices to serve the needs of regional agencies and neighbourhood space to support children's classes, junior youth groups and study circles".

    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

    Community Properties Fund
    2018 (In the year)
    201-
    The publication of Faithful Friends by Marlene Macke. It was published by Art Bookbindery.
      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.
    Faithful Friends; Marlene Macke; * Publications
    2018 26 Mar
    201-
    The publication of Equals and Partners: A Spiritual Journey Toward Reconciliation and Oneness, Wazin Îchinabi by Patricia Verge. It was published by Friesen Press.

    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.

    Patricia Verge; Nakoda First Nation
    2018 May
    201-
    The launch of the book Equals and Partners: A Spiritual Journey Toward Reconciliation and Oneness, Wazin Îchinabi, a memoir written by southern Alberta author Patricia Verge. The book is a history of the Bahá'í Faith on the Stoney Naked Nation over a period of 35 years.
  • See Bahá'í Blog for a brief interview with Pat.
  • The book was published by Friesen Press and is available at Amazon.ca.
  • See Pat's website.
  • Equals and Partners: A Spiritual Journey Toward Reconciliation and Oneness; Patricia Verge; Stoney Nakoda First Nation, AB
    2018 26 May
    201-
    The following individuals were elected by the delegates at the 70th National Convention held at the Toronto Bahá'í Centre to serve as members of the National Spiritual Assembly for the coming year: Deloria Bighorn, Karen McKye, Mehran Anvari, Ciprian Jauca, Élizabeth Wright, Gerald Filson, Hoda Farahmandpour, Judy Filson and Enayat Rawhani. The officers chosen were: Chairman — Deloria Bighorn; Vice-chairman — Ciprian Jauca; Treasurer — Mehran Anvari; Secretary — Karen McKye. [Message of the National Spritual Assemlby 30 May, 2018]
  • A by-election was held to fill a vacancy on the National Spiritual Assembly when Enayat Rowhani resigned after nearly four decades of service. Mr. Zelalem Bimrew Kasse was the newly-elected member. [Bahá'í Canada 30 May 2018; Bahá'í Canada 29 August 2018; Bahá'í Canada 20 July 2018]
  • Deloria Bighorn; Karen McKye; Mehran Anvari; Ciprian Jauca; Elizabeth Wright; Gerald Filson; Hoda Farahmandpour; Judy Filson; Enayat Rawhani; National Spiritual Assembly, election of; Toronto, ON
    2018 20 May
    201-
    The publication of Stumbling in the Half-Light: The Stories by John D Sargent. The book was publish by Friesen Press.
  • See the official website.

      Stumbling in the Half-Light follows a self-professed "chubby little half-breed" from the Six Nations reservation as he embarks on a lifetime of spiritual adventures within the Baha'i community. Through fifty-two short, autobiographical stories, John Sargent retells a life of humour, humility, loss, and faith. John's endearing openness leads him through a life of adventure—from a childhood on the reserve, to years in Africa, to a career in architecture and finally as an administrator of First Nations communities. But his real calling: was to bring the Bahá'í faith to First Nations communities throughout North America.
  • John Sargent
    2018 Jul
    201-
    The opening of the Greenboro Neighbourhood Centre in a strip mall in south Ottawa community of Greenboro.

    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]

    Community Properties Fund; Ottawa, ON
    2018 3 Jul
    201-
    In Queen's Park in New Westminster the 7-foot totem pole that was first installed in 1990 in honour of Dorothy Maquabeak Francis was re-erected after having been refurbished. Ella Benndorf, a Bahá'í who knew Dorothy Francis, took the initiative to have the totem restored to more suitably reflect the person it represented as when it was first erected. The totem was originally carved by Joseph Norbert Courville, a prison inmate who had met and was inspired by her while she was working to implement First Nations programs in correctional institutions and the restoration work was done by Bear Sam, a carver of the Tsartlip First Nation of the Saanich Peninsula. [CBNS] Dorothy Francis; Dorothy Maquabeak Francis; Ella Benndorf; Joseph Norbert Courville; Bear Sam; New Westminster, BC
    2018 15 Aug
    201-
    Mr. Enayat Rawhani asked to be permitted to relinquish his membership on the National Assembly. He had sought and received guidance from the Universal House of Justice, consequently a bi-election was held to fill the vacancy and Mr. Zelalem Bimrew Kasse was elected. [Message from the National Spiritual Assembly dated the 16th of August, 2018] National Spiritual Assembly, By-election; Zelalem Bimrew Kasse; Enayat Rawhani; Toronto, ON
    2018 28 Sep
    201-
    The passing of Aghdas Javid (b. 16 July 1924 in Hamadan, Iran) in Dundas. She was born a third generation Bahá'í; her grandfather became a Bahá'í in Hamadan in the 19th century when a large number of Jewish Persians became Bahá'ís. [Find a grave]

    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]

    Aghdas Javid; Hamilton, ON; Dundas, ON
    2018 Oct
    201-
    The publication of Man of the Trees: Richard St. Barbe Baker, the First Global Conservationist. by Paul Hanley. It was published by the University of Regina Press.
      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.
  • See BWNS1292.
  • See 9 June 1982.
  • Richard St. Barbe Baker; Man of the Trees; Paul Hanley; Regina, SK
    2018 1 - 7 Nov
    201-
    More than 7,500 people attended the Parliament of the World's Religions held at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre. This forum began in 1893 at the World Columbian Exposition in Chicago as an effort to promote an emerging international movement devoted to promoting dialogue among religions. Since that time, it has been held in Cape Town (1999), Barcelona (2004), Melbourne (2009) and Salt Lake City (2015). [Website] Bahá'í presenters were:
    • 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]

    Parliament of the World's Religions; Toronto, ON
    2019 2 Feb
    201-
    The Baha'i community of Canada relaunched its official websites at a new domain: www.bahai.ca. [CBNS] Websites; Baha'i National Organization
    2019 6 Mar
    201-
    The Bahá'í Community of Canada's Office of Public Affairs, together with the University of Toronto's Munk School of Global Affairs sponsored a seminar on religion and migration, which explored the various ways in which religious groups, immigration, and public opinion are interconnected. The seminar examined how religion shapes migration and vice versa: How have faith groups influenced immigration patterns and policy? How is immigration changing religion in a secular Canadian society? And what do Indigenous experiences of displacement tell us about popular narratives of welcome? The seminar was part of the University of Toronto Global Migration Lab's series of seminars on Global Migration Challenges, organized in partnership with Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada. [Canadian Bahá'í News Service] Migration; - Seminars; Toronto, ON
    2019 28 Apr
    201-
    The following individuals were elected by the delegates at the 71st National Convention to serve as members of the National Spiritual Assembly for the coming year: Deloria Bighorn (chair), Karen McKye (secretary), Mehran Anvari (treasurer), Hoda Farahmandpour, Ciprian Jauca (vice chair), Élizabeth Wright, Zelalem Bimrew Kasse, Gerald Filson, and Judy Filson. [from a letter from the National Spiritual Assembly dated 1 May 2019 to all Local Spiritual Assemblies, Regional Bahá'í Councils and Registered Groups]
  • Letter from the delegates to the Uiversal House of Justice and photo. [Bahá'í Canada 03 May 2019]
  • National Spiritual Assembly, election of; Deloria Bighorn; Karen McKye; Mehran Anvari; Hoda Farahmandpour; Ciprian Jauca; Elizabeth Wright; Zelalem Bimrew Kasse; Gerald Filson; Judy Filson; Toronto, ON
    2019 28 Apr
    201-
    The passing of Don Otto Rogers (b. 1935 in Kerrobert, Saskatchewan) a former member of the International Teaching Centre, in Picton, Ontario. He was buried in the Rose Cemetery in Waupoos, ON.
  • He enrolled as a believer in 1960 while resident in Saskatoon. [CBN No 124 May 1960 p6; Bahá'í Canada 30 April 2019]
  • He served as an Auxiliary Board Member and then as a Continental Counsellor followed by a decade as a member of the International Teaching Centre and upon returning to Canada, served on the National Spiritual Assembly. [BWNS1323; Wikipedia.]
  • As an accomplished artist, he was known as "Otto Rogers". He taught at the University of Saskatchewan (1959-1988) after receiving his MA in Fine Art from the University of Wisconsin. Mr Rogers helped sustain the Emma Lake Workshops, a meeting place for some of North America's leading artists including Barnett Newman, Jules Olitski and Mr Rogers himself. His work was held in more than 30 public collections including: the Art Gallery of Ontario, the National Gallery of Canada, and the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston.
  • His website.
  • His works at the Oeno Gallery in Prince Edward County.
  • Canadian Art.
  • Video The Artist In Us Interview—Painter Otto Rogers.
  • A talk by Otto Rogers entitled Artist's Studio.
  • The Canadian Encylopedia.
  • The National Gallery of Canada.

    His publications:

    A publications about his work:

  • Don Rogers; Otto Rogers; Continental Board of Counsellors; - In Memoriam; Auxiliary board members; Kerrobert, SK; Milford, ON; Waupoos, ON
    2019 17 June
    201-
    The publication of The Bridegroom from Baghdad by Star Mitchell. The book was published by BookBaby and is available from the publisher.
      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.
  • See 9 October 2013 for the "In Memoriam" for Redwan Moqbel, the "bridegroom".
  • Shar Mitchell; Bridegroom from Baghdad (book); Redwan Moqbel
    2019 26 Jul
    201-
    The Canadian Bahá'í News Service announced that a new edition of the Wings of Grace prayer book had been published that included several prayers in Hul'q'umi'num', a Coast Salish language spoken in several dialects along the West Coast but which is "critically endangered".
  • 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.
  • Wings of Grace; Hulquminum language; Deloria Bighorn; Robert George; Prayer; * Translation; Native Americans
    2019 8 - 11 Aug
    201-
    The 43rd Annual Conference of the Association for Bahá'í Studies–North America was held in the Westin Hotel in Ottawa.. The four day conference was attended by some 1,400 persons. [BWNS1347; CBN 27 August, 2019]
  • Plenary session recordings of past sessions are available for free streaming and downloading on the ABS Vimeo page.
  • Photos.
  • Association for Bahá'í Studies (North America); Ottawa, ON
    2019 (Fall)
    201-
    The publication of Hidden Words and Sounds: Tracing Iranian Legacies and Traumas in the Music of the Bahá'ís of North America by Daniel Akira Stadnicki, a thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the Department of Music at the University of Alberta in Edmonton. This dissertation examines music in North American Bahá'í communities and artistic contexts by focusing on the Faith's legacy of Persian culture, aesthetics, and history of religious persecution. Daniel Akira Stadnicki; Thesis; Edmonton, AB
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