Bahai Faith -- North America; Shoghi, Effendi, 1897-1957 -- Correspondence
The process of the steady multiplication of spiritual assemblies, already
numbering thirty-seven, of groups whose number equals that of the
assemblies, and of the forty localities where isolated believers reside,
must vigorously and uninterruptedly continue. The incorporation of
well-grounded spiritual assemblies, following the example set by the
spiritual assemblies of San José, Costa Rica, of Bogotà, Colombia, and of
Asunciòn, Paraguay, as a preliminary to the incorporation of the future
national assemblies to be established in Latin America, must be
strenuously and efficiently carried out. A beginning, however modest,
should be made in the direction of establishing local Funds, supported by
native believers and designed to supplement the financial assistance
extended by the parent community in North America, for the furtherance of
pioneer activity, for the dissemination of Bahá’í literature, for the
maintenance of local Bahá’í headquarters, for the gradual initiation of
Bahá’í endowments, such as the land offered for a Bahá’í Temple in Chile,
for the holding of conferences and of summer schools, for the creation of
publicity agencies, and for the conduct and expansion of youth activities.
Strong and sustained support should be given to the vitally needed and
meritorious activities started by the native Latin American traveling
teachers, particularly in the pioneer field, who, as the mighty task
progresses, must increasingly bear the brunt of responsibility for the
propagation of the Faith in their homelands. Full advantage should be
taken of the facilities provided by the use of practical workshop courses
in Latin American pioneering at the International School at Temerity
Ranch. The two summer schools in Azeiza and Santiago, as well as one
planned in Vera Cruz, should be utilized, not only as centers for the
acquisition of Bahá’í learning, but as training grounds for pioneering
among the Spanish and Portuguese speaking populations of all the republics
of Latin America. The regional conferences held in Buenos Aires and Panama
should be followed by conferences of a similar character, at which a
growing number of attendants from among the ranks of Latin American
believers will assume an ever-increasing share of responsibility in the
initiation and conduct of the affairs of a continually evolving community.
A deliberate effort should be made to increase, through correspondence
teaching and its extension to all the Spanish speaking countries, the
number of the active supporters of the Faith, so desperately needed in
view of the vastness of the field, the mighty responsibilities that have
been incurred, the smallness of the number of laborers, and the shortness
of the time at their disposal.
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