- 1976-01-01 — On the weekend of January 1—4, the newly-formed Canadian Association for Studies on the Bahá'í Faith held its first annual meeting at Cedar Glen, a conference centre 30 miles north of Toronto. The postal strike had made it impossible for the executive committee to provide adequate notification to the members, and this together with the very bad weather, suggested that attendance would be quite small. The committee, therefore, reserved space for only 50 people. No fewer than 80 participants turned up. Moreover, they came from every province in Canada, except Prince Edward Island, and from as far north as the Yukon. Fifteen local Spiritual Assemblies each sent a representative, and of course a number of the members of the Association were present in a dual capacity as representatives either of their own Spiritual Assembly or of a campus club.
Seven speakers presented papers in a wide range of academic disciplines. The speakers were:
'Abdu'l Misagh Ghadirian-"August Forel: His Life and Enlightenment".
Douglas Martin-"The Bahá'í Faith and Its Critics".
Luc Dion, a student of Physics at the Université du Québec in Chicoutimi-"La realité du monde e l'existence de Dieu". He had the distinction of being the first Bahá'í student to present a formal paper and also presented the first paper in French.
Hossain Danesh-"Violence and Apathy".
William Hatcher-on the relationship between science and religion.
Don Rogers-"The Function of Revelation in Artistic Expression".
Glen Eyford-"Spiritual Education".
A decision was taken to begin the publication of Bahá'í Studies.
In addition, the "Ballet Shayda" presented a group of three dances on Saturday evening. [BC Issue 291 February 1976 p6]
- 1976-12-31 — The second annual meeting of the Canadian Association for Studies took place at Cedar Glen, in Bolton, and was attended by some 100 Bahá'ís from all the provinces and a few from the United States.
Three original papers this year were presented by Dr. William Hatcher, Mr. Douglas Martin and Dr. John Hatcher. Two students, Heida Lakshman and John Taylor also presented papers.
The Ottawa company, based in Ottawa, Le Ballet Shayda presented their original piece entitled Journey. [BC Issue 300 February 1977 p6] - 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] - 1983-11-04 — The eight annual conference for the Association for Bahá'í Studies was held in Palmer House in Chicago. The Executive Committee for the ABS was Bill Hatcher; Jane Goldstone; Christine Zerbinis; Douglas Martin; Peter Morgan; Glen Eyford; Nasser Sabet; Richard Gagnon; Hossain Danesh with Firuz Kazemzadeh and Dorothy Nelson as United States representatives.
The 8th annual conference of the Association for Baha' Studies was held in Chicago with over 500 participants came from all parts of North America, Europe, the Middle East, Latin America, the Caribbean Islands, Australia, India and several African countries. Hand of the Cause of God Mr. Khadem attended as well as a number of representatives of the Institution of the Continental Board of Counsellors, members of many National Spiritual Assemblies, and a host of internationally reknowned scholars. A unique event at the conference was a special session held at the House of Worship, focussing on the situation of the Bahá'ís of Iran.
The first plenary session of the conference focussed on the theme "New Dimensions in Development", and comprised of three presentations: Dr. Glen Eyford, Professor of International Development, spoke on "Strategies-for Social Change", Dr. Joanna Macy, "A Spiritual Approach to Social Change" and Gustavo Correa's presentation was "FUNDAEC: Case Study of an Alternative for Rural Development".
The second session: "Integrating Personal and Social Change —The Baha'i Paradigm" hosted the following speakers: Dr. Ervin Laszlo, "The Coming Transformation of Global Society and Today's Action Imperative", Shelia Banani, "Unity: The Ultimate Paradigm Shift" and Dr. Hossain Danesh, "Integrating Personal and Social Change".
Hand of the Cause of God, Mr. Khadem, presented the awards to the winners of the best papers: John and Helen Danesh, High School Category; Shirin Sabri, General Category; Susan Stiles, University Category.
The theme for the third session was: "Elimination of Violence as a Prerequisite for World Peace". Dr. Udo Schaefer, spoke on "Justitia Fundamentum Regnorum: On the Future of Penal Law", followed by Mr. Brad Pokorny who spoke on "Disarmament and the Baha'i Faith".
The advances made by the Association during the year were highlighted; the establishment of branches of the Association for Bahá'í Studies in India, Colombia, Ireland, Austria and Switzerland and the finalization of plans for opening chapters of the Association at universities to take the place gradually of the existing Bahá'í Clubs. A proposed draft of the constitution for the campus charters has been prepared and is now under review by the World Centre. [CBN Vol 5 No 6 November/December 1983 p14]
- 1985-00-00 — The publication of The Bahá'í Faith; The Emerging Global Religion by William Hatcher and Douglas Martin. It was first published by Harper and Row, San Francisco and has seen numerous reprints. {BEL 7.1143 p87]
Outlines the history, teachings, structure and community life of the international Baha'i community, in an updated edition that includes coverage of the Baha'i Faith's views about world peace and the equal roles of women. - 1986-04-21 — The 39th National Convention of the Bahá'ís of Canada was held in the Palais des Congres in Hull, QC (now Gatineau). There were three Hands of the Cause in attendance, John Robarts, Bill Sears and A.M. Varqá. Those elected to serve on the National Spiritual Assembly were: Hossain Danesh; Husayn Banani; Michael Rochester; Enayat Rowhani; Glen Eyford; David Hadden; Ed Muttart; Jane Faily; and William Hatcher. [BC Vol 8 No 4 June 1986 p8]
- 1987-04-22 — The 39th National Convention was held in Port Stanton, ON from the 22nd to the 26th of April. It was attended by Hand of the Cause John Robarts and Counsellor David Smith. Those elected to the National Spiritual Assembly were: Husayn_Banani; Jane_Faily; Hossain_Danesh; Ann_Wilson; David_Hadden; Glen_Eyford; Bill_Hatcher; Ed_Muttart; Enayat_Rawhani. [BC Vol 9 No 4 June 1987 p2]
- 1988-05-19 — The 40th National Convention was held May 19-22nd in the Maxwell International Bahá'í School. Those elected to serve on the National Spiritual Assembly for the year 145 B.E. were: David Hadden, Enayat Rowhani, Michael Rochester, Louise Profit-Leblanc, Ann Wilson, Ed Muttart, Glen Eyford, Bill Hatcher, and Hossain Danesh. [BC Vol 10 No 6 Aug 1988 p3]
- 1990-04-21 — The 42nd National Convention was held in Calgary, AB. It was attended by Hand of the Cause Dr Varqá and Counsellors Dr David Smith and Eloy Aiell. Those elected to serve on the National Spiritual Assembly were: Ann Wilson, Louise Profeit-Leblanc, Enayat Rawhani, Michael Rochester, William Hatcher, Reggie Newkirk, Ed Muttart, Husayn Banani, and Hossain Danesh. [BC Vol 3 No 1 June 1990 p10]
- 1991-11-14 — In a message from Hand of the Cause A.M. Varqá, the Office of the Trustee, the Institution of the Huqúqu'lláh, to the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of Canada, the formation of the Board of Trustees of the Huqúqu'lláh was announced. Members were Mr. Husayn Banání, Dr. Mohsen Enayat, Dr. Gerald Hanks, Dr. Bill Hatcher, and Dr. Michael Rochester. [CBNJan92 p2]
- 2005-11-27 —
The passing of prolific author and founding member of the Association for Bahá'í Studies of North America, Dr. William S. Hatcher, in Stratford, Ontario. (b. 20 September, 1935 in Charlotte, NC).
- 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.
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