- 1976-04-30 — The National Convention was held at the University of Guelph. Over 900 attended. Hands of the Cause John Robarts, William Sears attended along with Counsellor Lloyd Gardner and members of the Auxiliary Board and Assistants.
Those elected to serve on the National Spiritual Assembly were: Douglas Martin, Ed Muttart, Jameson Bond, Glen Eyford, Hossain Danesh, Elizabeth Rochester, Ruth Eyford, Husain Banani, and Michael Rochester. [BC No293 Apr/May 1976 Special Section p1] - 1977-04-21 — The National Convention was held in Saskatoon, SK and was attended by Hand of the Cause William Sears. Counsellor Angus Cowan introduce a special guest, LuLu Barr who had been the first to come to Saskatchewan, who pioneered there in the last half hour of the first Seven Year Plan in 1944 and was a member of the first Spiritual Assembly of Regina.
Those elected to serve on the National Spiritual Assembly were: Douglas Martin, Ed Muttart, Jameson Bond, Glen Eyford, Hossain Danesh, Elizabeth Rochester, Ruth Eyford, Husain Banani, and Michael Rochester. [BC No304 June p1] - 1978-04-21 — The National Convention was held in Fredericton. Those elected to the National Spiritual Assembly were: Glen Eyford, Michael Rochester, Hossain Danesh, Husayn Banani, Jameson Bond, Elizabeth Rochester, Douglas Martin, Ruth Eyford, and Ed Muttart. [BC No 315 June/July 1978 p7; BC No 313 Mar/Apr 1978]
- 1978-11-23 — A bi-election was called to replace National Spiritual Assembly member Carol Bowie who had accepted an appointment to the Auxiliary Board. A national postal strike was underway and even if the strike were settled immediately it appeared that with the backlog of mail and the heavier demand during the holiday season another solution had to be found.
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]
- 1979-04-21 — The National Convention was held 26-29 April 1979 in Guelph,ON. [Bulletin No7 March 1979}. No information on the election of the National Assembly was published in the Bulletin (at that time the name of CBN/BC).
However, the following person were members of the 1978 and the 1980 Assemblies: Jameson Bond, Glen Eyford, Husayn Banani, Hossain Danesh, Michael Rochester, Edmund Muttart, Elizabeth Rochester, Ruth Eyford, and Douglas Martin. - 1980-04-21 —
The National Convention was held in Vancouver, BC. Those elected to the National Spiritual Assembly were: Jameson Bond, Glen Eyford, Husayn Banani, Hossain Danesh, Michael Rochester, Edmund Muttart, Elizabeth Rochester, Ruth Eyford, and Douglas Martin. [Baha'i Canada, vol. 2, no. 10, May/June 1980]
- Photo.
- 1980-06-01 — Immediately following the ABS Conference, and under the sponsorship of the Association for Bahá'í Studies, the first International Bahá'í Conference on Health and Healing was convened. It was open to Bahá'í s only. The aims of the conference were (1) to further enhance research and study on various Writings of the Bahá'í Faith as they pertain to health and healing; (2) to provide a forum for individuals to share their scientific findings and the results of their clinical activities; and (3) to initiate collaborative research and service projects on an international scale.
The conference began with a presentation by Dr. Victor de Araujo entitled, "Health: A Global Perspective". Dr. Hossain Danesh then presented a review of the historical relationship between religion and science in general and the science of medicine in particular. These two talks set the tone and direction of the conference.
For the remaining two and a half days, the participants were treated to an array of challenging, informative and well-researched presentations such as: "Mind, Body and Soul" by Dr. Faraneh Khadem; "The Baha'i Revelation and Lifestyle Alternation" by Dr. David Smith; "Adolescent Quest for Tranquility: the Dilemma of Drug Abuse" by Dr. A. M. Ghadirian; ''Scientific Method of Search for Truth" by Dr. Peter Morgan; "Total Stimulation for Children Recovering from Malnutrition" by Linda Gershuny; "Nutrition: Key Factor in High-Level Wellness" by Dr. S. Raman; "Music Therapy" by Jocelyn Boor; "Healing Relationship in Marriage" by Ruth Eyford and Helgi Eyford; and "The Importance for a Physician to turn to God" by Dr. Agnes Ghaznavi.
There were four very successful workshops: "Smoking and Exercise"; ''Alcoholism, Drug Abuse, and Youth"; "Baha'i Life" and ''Baha'i Approach to Sexuality". The participants also had the pleasure of attending the performance of Ballet Shayda on the theme of "Women in Motion''.
. The closing addresses were given by Hand of the Cause John Robarts and by Florence Altass, a 96 year old Bahá'í from England, who due to a recent and severe illness, was not able to attend the conference but sent a paper and taped message.
Throughout the conference, Mr. Robarts greatly encouraged the friends, showered them with his love and guided them with his remarks. He reminded Bahá'í health professionals of the importance of prayer and turning to God for assistance at the time of dispensing treatment. It was through his closing remarks, quoting from the Writings of the Faith, that the audience caught a glimpse of the unity of religion and science which will no doubt characterize the medical sciences of the future.
[BC Vol 2 Issue 12 September/October 1980 p30] - 1981-04-21 — The 33rd National Convention was held in Montreal. Those elected to serve on the National Assembly for the coming year were: Ed Muttart, Husain Banani, Michael Rochester, Hossain Danesh, Douglas Martin, Jameson Bond, Elizabeth Rochester, Ruth Eyford and Glen Eyford.
[BC Vol 3 No 4 May/Jun 1981 p17-26]
- 1981-05-29 — The International Conference on Marriage and the Family was held May 29-June 3 was held in Ottawa concurrent with the ABS conference to hear papers presented by scholars on various aspects of Bahá'í studies.
Just as Amatu'l-Bahá Rúḥíyyih Khánum had ended the Association's annual conference, so she opened the three days of its International Bahá'í Conference on Marriage and the Family, speaking first about the problem of divorce, endemic among the Bahá'ís as it is in the world at large, and a source of great concern at the World Centre. Although marriage, she said, is not in itself a commandment, it is essential that Bahá'ís obey and take seriously the Bahá'í laws on marriage.
One of the speakers at the International Bahá'í Conference on Marriage and the Family, sponsored by the Association for Bahá'í Studies was Mrs Yoshiko Nomura, a housewife from Tokyo, Japan, who was the founder and executive director of the Center for Lifelong Integrated Education.
Other speakers included Kerry Mothersill, A.M. Ghadirian, Khalil A. Khavari, Michael Bruwer, Jane Faily, Frank Haendel, Hossain Danesh, Eric Frost, Sandra Roberts, N. Peseschkian, Ruth Eyford, and Anne McGillivray.
[BN Issue 607 October 1981 p7] - 1982-04-21 — The first closed National Convention was held. In addition to the delegates, those who attended included Hands of the Cause William Sears and John Robarts, Counsellor Lloyd Gardner, and some Auxiliary Board Members.
In addition to the open style of the agenda and the Thursday supper, another new feature of the Convention was Friday's lunch at which everyone had a chance to discuss particular issues at differently designated tables. The closed nature of the Convention permitted the delegates, along with the Hands of the Cause, Counsellor, Board Members, and National Assembly members to get together for talks and discussions over meals and at breaks without getting caught up in the always festive, often overwhelming atmosphere of recent National Conventions which have seen upwards of one thousand participants.
Elected to the National Spiritual Assembly were; Glen Eyford, Douglas Martin, Elizabeth Rochester, Michael Rochester, Edmund Muttart, Husayn Banani, Ruth Eyford, Jane Faily, and Hossain Danesh. [CBN Vol14 No 3 July/Aug 1982 p22] - 1983-04-21 — In 1983 the institution of the National Convention went through another of its periodic bouts of growing pains. Attendance again was limited to the delegates and the members of the two participating Institutions, the Board of Counsellors and the
National Spiritual Assembly, although members of the Auxiliary Board were also welcome as guests and observers.
Prior to the Convention, the National Spiritual Assembly had sent to all delegates a list of questions on which it felt the incoming membership of the Assembly would most urgently need the delegates' advice. In the same mailing, the delegates received the Annual Report from the National Assembly and reports from each one of the national committees.
Those elected to serve on the National Spiritual Assembly during the National Convention held in Guelph were: Douglas Martin (sec'y), Hossain Danesh [chair), Jane Faily, Ed Muttart (treasurer and ass't sec'y), Ruth Eyford, Michael Rochester (vice), Glen Eyford, Husayn Banani, and William Hatcher.
[CBN Vol5 Issue3 July/Aug 1983 p23; CBN Vol5 Issue 2 May/Jun 1983 p20] - 1996-01-10 — The passing of Ruth Eyford in St. Albert, AB. (b. Ruth Monk 12 June, 1930, NS). [Find a grave]
She became a Bahá'í in Montreal in 1956 and married Glen Eyford in 1957. She and Glen served in Iceland and in India. Returning to Canada she served as an Auxiliary Board Member and as chair of the National Spiritual Assembly as well as a number of local and national committees. [BW1995-1996p313]
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