The first Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of Niagara Falls, ON was formed by joint declaration. The members were: Carol and David Bowie, Charlie and Florence Grindlay, Ben and Mary Koltermann, Amy Putnam, Joy Carter and Vi Dutoff.
• The first Bahá'í in Niagara Falls was Charlie Grindlay.
• The first native Niagara Falls resident to become a Bahá'í was Carol Bowie. [Ref: email from David Bowie dated 28 August 2024]

The National Spiritual Assembly appointed a National Promulgation Committee with a mandate to bring the Bahá'i Faith to the attention of Christian clergy and laymen throughout Canada. The committee members were: Fred and Jean Graham, Douglas and Elizabeth Martin, David and Carol Bowie. Hamilton was chosen as the site for a pilot project. Every minister and priest received the pamphlet, "The Promised Day of God" and a letter with the National Spiritual Assembly letterhead outlining Bahá'u'lláh's claim to be the return of Christ. Every Protestant minister received a copy of the article by Marcs Bach from the Christian Century entitled, "Bahá'í, a Second Look" and every Catholic priest received a pamphlet with excerpts from Bahá'u'lláh's Tablet to the Pope. Archdeacons and Bishops and prominent Presbyterian and United ministers receive a copy of Christ and Bahá'u'lláh. In addition a letter was sent to the local Council of Churches or Ministerial Association outlining Bahá'u'lláh's claim and including a pamphlet and the Christian Century article and offering a speaker if they desired.
• On the weekend following the mailout, notices were placed in the newspaper on the church page informing people that their clergy had received the material and notice was given about a public meeting on Sunday with the subject "Christ and Bahá'u'lláh".
• Questionnaires were sent to every group in Ontario requesting information that would facilitate further plans. [CBN No 104 September 1958 p3-4]

Mrs Audrey Rayne presided at the name-giving ceremony for the two children of Mr and Mrs K Ross in Halifax. [CBN No 110 March 1959 p3]

The first Spiritual Assembly of the Bahà'ís of Niagara Falls was formed by joint declaration. The members were: Carol and David Bowie, Charlie and Florence Grindlay, Ben and Mary Koltermann, Amy Puntnam Joy Carter and Vi Dutoff.
• The first Bahá'í in Niagara Falls was Charlie Grindlay.
• The first native Niagara Falls resident to become a Bahá'í was Carol Bowie.

Ron Parsons became a Bahá'í some time before July in 1961. [CBN No 138 July 1961 p3]
• At the time he was a United Church minister in Strathmore, AB. He had first heard of the Faith while serving in Red Lake, ON in 1960. A parishioner had directed him to speak with Carol and David Bowie while he was doing visitation in Ear Falls where the Bowie family lived. Following his visit the Bowies sent him a copy of Christ and Bahá'u'lláh and on the next visit he left with the Kitáb-i-Íqán and subsequently was loaned The World Order of Bahá'u'lláh. Shortly after was transferred to Claresholm, AB and David put him in touch with Arthur and Lily-Ann Irwin who nurtured him into full acceptance of, and membership in, the Faith. [CBN No 127 August 1960 p4] [from and email correspondence with David Bowie 4 January 2020] iiiii

The by-laws, however, give the National Assembly considerable latitude. Article XIII, Section 12 reads: "Vacancies in the membership of the National Spiritual Assembly shall be filled by a plurality vote of the delegates composing the Convention which elected the Assembly, the ballot to be take by correspondence or in any other manner decided upon by the National Spiritual Assembly."

On this basis the National Assembly adopted an interesting system of voting which protected the confidentiality of the ballots and proved both rapid and efficient. Each delegate was assigned a code consisting of a colour and a number. A contact person selected by the National Assembly for each region, telephoned the delegates in that area, to advise them of their individual codes and explain the system of voting. Each delegate was asked to send a direct unsigned wire to the National Assembly, containing his or her code and the name of the person for whom he or she was voting. Each contact person phoned back when all delegates in the region had been notified, a week's time being allowed for transmission.

At the National Centre different teams of receptionists and scrutineers handled different stages of the process, so that the names of the delegates and the votes they were casting did not come together at any point in the process. The original deadline was extended an additional three days to be certain that all telegrams had cleared the system. Finally, on December 11, the ballots were counted under the supervision of tellers selected from available delegates in the Toronto area.

Altogether 124 of the 133 eligible delegates cast ballots. Only one ballot had to be regarded as spoiled. In six instances, new delegates had to be recognized to replace those who for one reason or another were no longer eligible to vote. Three of these friends not eligible to vote have left for overseas pioneer projects: Gail Burland, Bud Davies, and Lynn Smith. [Bahá'í Canada No 290 Dec/Jan 1978-1979 p1]

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