With the assurance of his loving prayers for you all,
Yours in His service,
R. Rabbani
The maps you forwarded were of great interest, and he
thanks you for them. He intends to have one of them published in
the next edition of Bahá’í World.
[From the Guardian:]
Dear and valued co-workers:
The progress achieved in various fields by the members of
the Canadian Bahá’í Community under the direction of its
national elected representatives, since the inception of the Five
Year Plan, merits the highest praise, and augurs well for its
success in the years that lie immediately ahead. The spontaneity
with which the members of this community, on the morrow
of its having attained an independent national existence,
have arisen to execute the Plan designed for the furtherance of
its interests and the consolidation of its newly-born institutions,
the zeal and resolution which have characterized the
prosecution of the task entrusted to their care, the notable
success they have already achieved in the initial stages of their
enterprise, have served to heighten my feelings of admiration
for those who have directed its course and participated in its
unfoldment, and to evoke the unstinted praise of all sister communities
in both the East and the West.
Though much has been achieved in the course of the two
years that have elapsed since the formulation of the Plan, the
objectives that the members of this struggling, youthful and
valiant community have set themselves to attain are still far
from being fulfilled. Though the process of the multiplication
of Bahá’í centres, over the length and breadth of so vast a territory,
has been, steadily and speedily, gathering momentum,
the number of groups that have achieved Assembly status is
still relatively insignificant, while the pioneer activity designed
to awaken and stimulate the interest of the Eskimos in the
Faith and enlist their support may hardly be said to have been
vigorously and adequately launched. The call to which this
newly-fledged community has been summoned is admittedly
urgent and challenging. The character of the tasks allotted to
it is, in many respects, unique. The resources at its disposal
for the discharge of its peculiar responsibilities are no doubt
as yet inadequate. The obstacles that stand in its way and obstruct
its path seem almost insurmountable. Its membership,
when viewed in relation to the range over which it operates, is
no doubt wholly inadequate. Yet the spirit which has consistently
animated the members of the entire community, and
the energy and determination which have distinguished their
elected representatives in the discharge of their sacred duties,
are such as to fortify the hopes which I, as well as their fellow-workers
in both hemispheres, have cherished in our hearts,
since the inauguration of their first collective enterprise in a
land so rich in promise, so vast in its potentialities, and so
honoured by the visit of the Centre of the Covenant Himself as
well as by the glowing references made to it by Him in His
immortal Tablets.
As the centenary of the birth of Bahá’u’lláh’s prophetic
Mission approaches, as the first historic Plan, signalizing the
birth and rise of a highly privileged community, the sole partner
of its great sister community in the South in the prosecution
of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s Divine Plan, gathers momentum and
enters the concluding stages in its evolution, a dedication even
more conspicuous than that already manifested in the hour of
the launching of the Plan must needs be displayed by all those
who are called upon to participate in its prosecution. A sterner
resolve, a nobler heroism, a greater unanimity in sacrifice, a
further intensification of effort must be manifested, as the
first stage in the evolution of the mission of the Canadian
Bahá’í Community draws to a close, and paves the way for the
inauguration of still more splendid enterprises along the path
laid down for them by the unerring hand of the Author of the
Divine Plan.
That this community will never relax in its high endeavours,
that the vision of its glorious mission will not be suffered
to be dimmed, that obstacles, however formidable, will
neither dampen its zeal or deflect it from its purpose, is my
confident hope and earnest prayer. He Who watches over its
destinies, from Whose pen testimonies so significant and soul
thrilling have flowed, will no doubt continue to direct its steps,
to shower upon it His loving bounties, to surround it with His
constant care, and to enable it to scale loftier heights on its
ascent towards the summit of its destiny.
With a heart brimful with gratitude for all that this community
has so far achieved, and throbbing with hope for the
future exploits that will distinguish its record of stewardship
to the Faith of Bahá’u’lláh, I pray that by its acts, this community
will prove itself worthy of the trust confided to its care,
and the station to which it has been called,
Your true and grateful brother,
Shoghi
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