wfn.org | Baha'i news: Latin America marks key anniversary in establishment of Baha'i Faith

[Sally Weeks <sweeks@bwc.org>]

>Baha'i World News Service
>http://news.bahai.org
>For more information, contact: news@bahai.org<mailto:news@bahai.org

Latin America marks key anniversary in establishment of Baha'i Faith

SAN SALVADOR, El Salvador, 28 April (BWNS) - El Salvador and 20 other natio ns 
in Latin America and the Caribbean are this month electing their nationa l 
Baha'i assembly for the 50th time.

The anniversary not only marks a milestone in the establishment of the Baha 'i 
Faith in the Western Hemisphere, but the formation of those 21 assemblie s in 
1961 helped pave the way for the election two years later of the Unive rsal 
House of Justice, the nine-member body that is now the worldwide head  of the 
Baha'i Faith.

"To be able to elect the House of Justice, we first had to elect national a 
ssemblies," explained Gabriel Torres, who was a member of the first Nationa l 
Spiritual Assembly of the Baha'is of El Salvador.

Mr. Torres shared his memories at a special session during El Salvador's 50 th 
national convention, held this past weekend at the new Baha'i center in  the 
capital city of San Salvador.

Others who spoke were Quentin and Jeanne Farrand - also among the nine peop le 
elected to the first Salvadoran Baha'i National Spiritual Assembly.

"It was such an emotional moment when (we learned) that 21 countries in Lat in 
America would all form their national assemblies in 1961," Mrs. Farrand  said.

At the time, added Mr. Farrand, there were just 24 active Baha'is in El Sal 
vador. "I remember that there were only 11 people at the first summer schoo l 
we had. Now our Baha'i Institute is too small to hold all the people."

There are several thousand Baha'is in El Salvador now, despite upheavals ca 
used by civil war in the 1980s and early '90s that forced many people from  
their homes and significantly reduced the size of the Baha'i community.

More important than numbers, however, is the progress being made at the gra 
ssroots level to work with the wider community in contributing to the bette 
rment of society, said Gabriela Velis, 32.

"Our work is aimed at raising the capacity of people to take charge of thei r 
own spiritual, social, and intellectual development," she said.

Activities include gatherings that strengthen the devotional character of t he 
community; classes for children; groups that channel the energies of you ng 
people; and study circles where participants explore the application of  
spiritual teachings to their lives.

>The Festival of Ridvan

National Baha'i elections are held during the 12-day Festival of Ridvan, wh ich 
begins each year on 21 April. Ridvan marks the anniversary of Baha'u'll ah's 
declaration in 1863 that He is the Messenger of God for this age, the  most 
recent in a line of divine educators that includes Buddha, Jesus, Kris hna, 
Mohammed, Moses, Zoroaster, and others.

In its annual message for the Ridvan period addressed to the Baha'is of the  
world, the Universal House of Justice observed the growing ability of Nati onal 
Spiritual Assemblies across the globe to think and act strategically i n 
nurturing community-building processes at the local level.

As core activities multiply, the message noted, they will be sustained by " men 
and women eager to improve material and spiritual conditions in their s 
urroundings."

In addition to El Salvador, other countries in Latin America and the Caribb ean 
where Baha'is are electing their National Spiritual Assembly for the 50 th year 
include Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cu ba, 
Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Jamaica, Mexic o, 
Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay, and Venezuela.

To read the article with the photographs, go to:
http://news.bahai.org/story/769