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Search for tag "Local Spiritual Assemblies"

from the chronology

date event locations tags see also
1922 5 Mar Shoghi Effendi wrote to the American Bahá'ís calling for the establishment of local assemblies wherever nine or more believers reside and directing that all activities be placed under the authority of the local and national assemblies. [BA17-25; BBRSM120-1; CB300] BWC Shoghi Effendi, Life of; Shoghi Effendi, Basic timeline; Local Spiritual Assemblies; National Spiritual Assemblies; Administration; Shoghi Effendi, Works of
1922 Apr Shoghi Effendi sent verbal messages through Consul Schwarz to Germany and Ethel Rosenberg to Britain to form local spiritual assemblies and to arrange for the election of a national spiritual assembly in each country. [CB293; ER209, 211-12; PP56] Germany; United Kingdom; United States; Canada Shoghi Effendi, Life of; Consuls; Albert Schwarz; Ethel Rosenberg; National Spiritual Assemblies; Local Spiritual Assemblies; Spiritual Assemblies; Executive Board
1922. 8 Apr Bahíyyih Khánum wrote a general letter to the friends acknowledging the letters of allegiance received and saying that Shoghi Effendi was counting on the friends for their cooperation in spreading the Message adding that the Bahá'í world must, from now on, be linked through the Spiritual Assemblies and local questions must be referred to them, She announced Shoghi Effendi's temporary absence and his appointment of her as his representative. [GBF19] BWC Bahiyyih Khanum (Greatest Holy Leaf); Shoghi Effendi, Life of; Shoghi Effendi, Basic timeline; Local Spiritual Assemblies
1923 Mar An article entitled `Bahai Organization: Its Basis in the Revealed Word' was published in Star of the West. [SW13, 12:323-8]
  • The purpose of the article was to convince those who were opposed to a structured form of Bahá'í administration. [BBRSM123]
    		• Administration; Local Spiritual Assemblies; National Spiritual Assemblies
    1923 12 Mar Shoghi Effendi wrote to Bahá'ís in America, Great Britain, Germany, France, Switzerland, Italy, Japan and Australasia about Bahá'í administration, outlining the process for annual elections of assemblies and calling for the establishment of local and national funds. [BA34-43; PP330]
  • See ER223-4 for the response of the British Bahá'ís.
  • In the same letter, as a Post Script, he included a list of the best known and most current Bahá'í terms transliterated with a recommendation that this be adopted as standard for all Western Bahá'ís with a promise that the Haifa Spiritual Assembly would provide a supplement. The transliteration scheme was mostly based on a standard adopted by the Tenth International Congress of Orientalists which took place in Geneva in September 1894. [BA43; PG208-209]
  • From the June 1923 issue of Star of the West, attempts were made to introduce the voting system although these are at first very patchy. The first books that appeared to be trying to put the system into use are Esslemont's Bahá'u'lláh and the New Era and Herrick's Unity Triumphant (the latter not entirely consistently), both published in 1923. Although some books appearing in 1924 did not follow the system, from this time on, books and other printed material published under Bahá'í auspices have followed it. [Transliteration by Mojan Momen]
  • A list of transliterated terms appeared in BW1p131 and expanded lists appeared in subsequent volumes.
    		•  Haifa Shoghi Effendi, Life of; Administration; Transliteration; Local Spiritual Assemblies; National Spiritual Assemblies; ElectionsFunds
    1925 10 Apr Shoghi Effendi wrote to the American National Spiritual Assembly indicating that the word ‘assembly' was to apply only to the elected body of nine believers in each locality or to the national assembly, not to the believers as a whole. They had been using the term to mean the community of Bahá'ís. [BA83; SBBH258] United States Administration; National Spiritual Assemblies; Local Spiritual Assemblies; Spiritual Assemblies
    1928 (In the year) The publication of Bahá'í Administration, a collection of communications to the American Bahá'í community from the Guardian between 1922 and 1929. Revisions were published in 1933, 1936, 1941 and 1945. Additional messages and an expanded index was added in 1968. [WOBpv, BAiv]

    "His letters to Bahá'í institutions and to Bahá'ís in general began almost at once, and many will be found in Bahá'í Administration, beginning January 21, 1922. Early or late, his communications were not merely writings, they were the dynamic that moved the Bahá'í world. These letters in effect built the Administrative Order, its most vital features being found there. They taught the Bahá'í Assemblies how to be, how to consult, what their duties were. The book also contains the Declaration of Trust and By-Laws drawn up by the international lawyer Mountfort Mills, carefully reviewed by Shoghi Effendi, and adopted in 1926 by the National Spiritual Assembly of the United States and Canada, at this time under one jurisdiction. (Khan, back in America by then. Shoghi Effendi wished all National Spiritual Assemblies to adopt, with necessary local adaptations, this Declaration of Trust and ByLaws, which set forth the character and objectives of Bahá'í communities worldwide." [Cited from AY304]

    		 Bahai Administration (book); Shoghi Effendi, Writings of; Shoghi Effendi, Life of; Publications; Shoghi Effendi, Basic timeline; Declaration of Trust and By-Laws; Mountfort Mills; - Basic timeline, Expanded; Administrative order; Shoghi Effendi, Works of; Local Spiritual Assemblies; National Spiritual Assemblies
    1921 - 1937 In the period from the inception of the Guardianship to 1937 Shoghi Effendi laid the foundation of the World Order of Bahá'u'lláh in conformity with the Will and Testament of 'Abdu'l-Bahá. Some of the major accomplishments were:
  • Continued the translation work that began while he was still an assistant to 'Abdu'l-Bahá and later as a student at Oxford.
  • Explained the principles and structure of the Administrative Order.
  • Developed the constitutional structure of the local and national spiritual assemblies.
  • Clarified the relationships of these assemblies with the community of believers and elucidate the manner of their election and operation.
  • Emphasized that the Administrative Order was the channel through which the spirit of God would flow and instructed that they be ever watchful lest "the means supersede the end". [Pg209]
  • Imparted the vision of the new world order through his letter which have become to be know as "The World Order Letters". [PG209-215]
    		• Shoghi Effendi, Life of; World Order of Bahaullah (book); Administrative Order; Administration; Local Spiritual Assemblies; National Spiritual Assemblies
    1997 Ridván The Universal House of Justice restricted the formation of Local Spiritual Assemblies to the first day of Riḍván. This measure had the effect anticipated; there was a decrease in the number of these institutions but the fall was not drastic. [Message from the Universal House of Justice Ridván 2000]

    		Worldwide Ridvan; Elections; Administration; Local Spiritual Assemblies; LSA; Growth; Statistics; Bahai Faith, Evolutionary nature of; Maturity
    1997 30 May In its message of 30 May 1997 the Universal House of Justice announced that they have authorized the formation of "State Bahá'í Councils" or "Regional Teaching and Administrative Committees" to be called "Regional Bahá'í Councils. Their intention was to provide a balance between centralization and decentralization. This structure had been in place in some countries, notably India, for some years prior to this time. See 23 May, 1986. [TP87-90]
    For a synopsis of the letter see The Establishment of Regional Bahá'í Councils in Certain Countries, Their Characteristics and Functions.
    The distinguishing effects of the establishment of Regional Bahá'í Councils were the following:
  • It provided for a level of autonomous decision making on both teaching and administrative matters, as distinct from merely executive action, below the National Assembly and above the Local Assemblies.
  • It involved the members of Local Spiritual Assemblies of the area in the choice of the members of the Council, thus reinforcing the bond between it and the local believers while, at the same time, bringing into public service capable believers who were known to the friends in their own region.
  • It established direct consultative relationships between the Continental Counselors and the Regional Bahá'í Councils.
  • It offered the possibility of forming a Regional Bahá'í Council in an ethnically distinct region which covered parts of two or more countries. In such a situation the Council was designated to work directly under one of the National Assemblies involved, providing copies of its reports and minutes to the other National Assembly.
  • The greater degree of decentralization involved in the devolution of authority upon Regional Bahá'í Councils required a corresponding increase in the capacity of the National Spiritual Assembly itself to keep fully informed of what was proceeding in all parts of the territory over which it had ultimate jurisdiction.
    		•  BWC; Haifa State Bahai Councils; Regional Bahai Councils; National Spiritual Assemblies; NSA; Local Spiritual Assemblies; LSA; Administration; Regional Council
    2005 Jul The publication of Impact of Growth on Administration Processes by the International Teaching Centre on behalf of the Universal House of Justice.
  • The PDF for Learning to Respond to Emerging New Realities: Messages from the Universal House of Justice can be found here. The document Impact of Growth on Administration Processes is part of that document.
  • See also TP397.
    		•  BWC * Institute process; Growth; Administration; Clusters; Training Institutes; Publications; Local Spiritual Assemblies; National Spiritual Assemblies

    from the chronology of Canada

    date event locations tags see also
    1951 Oct For a list of National Committees complete with their mandates see CBN No 22 October 1951 p6-8.

    For a list of functioning local spiritual assemblies see CBN No 22 October 1951 p8.

    		 National Committees; Local Spiritual Assemblies

    from the main catalogue

    1. Additional Tablets, Extracts and Talks, by Abdu'l-Bahá (2018/2023). 167 selections, updated August 2023. [about]
    2. Bahá'í World, The: Volume 18 (1979-1983), in Bahá'í World (1986). Periodic volumes that survey the global activities and major achievements of the Faith. [about]
    3. Bahá'u'lláh and Liberation Theology, by Juan Cole, in Revisioning the Sacred: New Perspectives on a Bahá'í Theology, Studies in the Bábí and Bahá'í Religions vol. 8 (1997). The idea of liberation and equality is central to Bahá'í theology; the poor in the 19th century Middle East; Bahá'u'lláh and the poor; Tablet to the Kings on wealth and peace; laws of the Kitáb-i-Aqdas and Huququ'lláh; state social welfare. [about]
    4. Community Functioning, Issues Concerning: Fostering the Development of Bahá'í Communities, by Shoghi Effendi and Universal House of Justice, in Compilation of Compilations, Volume 3 (2000). Extensive guidance on community development. Includes extracts from letters written on behalf of Shoghi Effendi on fostering the evolution of Bahá'í communities. [about]
    5. Confidencialidad en los Asuntos de las Asambleas Locales y Nacionales, by Universal House of Justice (1994-08-07). [about]
    6. Developing Distinctive Bahá'í Communities: Guidelines for Spiritual Assemblies, by National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of the United States (1998). A guide to community development. Links to document offsite. [about]
    7. Developing the Secretariat of a Local Spiritual Assembly, by Paul Friedman, in Australian Bahá'í Studies, 1:2 (1999). [needs abstract] [about]
    8. "Easy Familiarity," Explanations of, by Ruhiyyih (Mary Maxwell) Khanum and Ann Boylan (1912/1947/1974). Statements on displays of affection (hugging and kissing) between members of the opposite sex. Also questions on assembly infallibility, and whether one with a minority opinion should vote against his conscience. [about]
    9. Indexes to Bahá'í World volumes: Obituaries, chronologies, contents, illustrations, in Bahá'í World (2013). Seven separate indexes for Bahá'í World, in PDF, Word, and Excel versions. [about]
    10. Law, Application of, by Universal House of Justice (1991-12-09). Questions concerning the violation of Bahá'í and civil law, and the removal of administrative rights. [about]
    11. Learning to Respond to Emerging New Realities: Messages from the Universal House of Justice, by Universal House of Justice (2006). Two letters to the US NSA dealing with expansion and administration, and a document prepared by the International Teaching Centre, "Impact of Growth on Administration Processes." [about]
    12. Local Spiritual Assemblies, by Universal House of Justice, in Compilation of Compilations, Volume 2 (1991). [about]
    13. Local Spiritual Assembly, The, in Bahá'í World, Vol. 18 (1979-1983) (1986). The institution of the LSA, its significance, and its by-laws. [about]
    14. Local Spiritual Assembly, The, by Bahá'u'lláh and Abdu'l-Bahá, in Compilation of Compilations, Volume 2 (1991). [about]
    15. Measuring Success: An Exploratory Study of United States Bahá'í Local Spiritual Assemblies and the Five Year Plan, by Armin J. Jezari (2010). Applied research project on what degree a typical Local Spiritual Assembly in the United States is adopting elements of effective public administration based on the Five Year Plan (2006-2011). [about]
    16. Message to the Conference of the Continental Boards of Counsellors on the Nine Year Plan, by Universal House of Justice (2021-12-30). Features of the new 9-Year Plan, "the first major undertaking in a sacred twenty-five-year venture, generational in its scope and significance," to be implemented Ridvan 2022. [about]
    17. Messages from the Universal House of Justice 1963-1986: Third Epoch of the Formative Age, by Universal House of Justice (1996). [about]
    18. Principles of Bahá'í Administration, by Bahá'u'lláh and Abdu'l-Bahá (1950/1973). A guide to procedure in the life and organic activity of the Bahá'í community, prepared from three main sources from the US National Spiritual Assembly: Bahá'í Administration, Bahá'í Procedure, and Bahá'í Community. [about]
    19. Proselytizing, Development, and the Covenant, by Universal House of Justice, in Messages from the Universal House of Justice: 1963-1986, The Third Epoch of the Formative Age (1996). Teaching vs. proselytization; applying Bahá'í social teachings without becoming ensnared in prevailing cultural mores; and the uniqueness of the Bahá'í covenant. [about]
    20. Role of the Local Assembly in Cluster Growth, by Universal House of Justice and International Teaching Centre (2009-05-15). Practical guidelines for LSAs to organize and teach more effectively. [about]
    21. Spiritual Assembly's Growing Pains, A, by Ruhiyyih (Mary Maxwell) Khanum (1976). A play, in 28 pages, showing "some of the workings of a Bahá'í Spiritual Assembly: some of the blunders, some of the problems; how certain types of people fit better into one office and others into another." [about]
    22. Trustees of the Merciful: The Station, Responsibilities and Duties of the Local Spiritual Assembly, by National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of the United States (1958). Brief compilation from Bahá'u'lláh, Abdu'l-Bahá, and Shoghi Effendi; constitutional basis of the Local Spiritual Assembly; duties and responsibilities. [about]
    23. Trustees of the Merciful: An Introduction to Bahá'í Administration, by Adib Taherzadeh (1972/1999/2009). The spirit that animates the Administrative Order of Bahá’u’lláh; spiritual attitudes that characterize members of the institutions of the Cause; unfoldment of the Administrative Order during the first 50 years of the Formative Age; statistical info. [about]
    24. Various Essays, by Susan Gammage (2013-2018/2023). 47 short essays on following the teachings and living a Bahá'í life, life coaching and counselling, recovery from substances or abuse, family matters, dreams, elections, debt, abortion, and more. Includes bios of Bruce Matthews and Caroline Lehmann. [about]
    25. یادگار جشن پنجاهمین سال تاسیس محفل مقدس بهائیان طهران 55-103: Commemoration of the fiftieth anniversary of the founding of the Bahá'í Assembly of Tehran B.E. 55-103 (1947). Booklet and collection of historical photographs published to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the founding of the Local Spiritual Assembly of Tihran, published B.E. 103 (1947). Includes partial English translation (2022). [about]
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