Election of new Members of the National Spiritual Assembly
Bahá’í delegates from various provinces and islands in the Philippines gathered in Manila for the Philippine Bahá’í National Convention, last April 21 to 24, and elected the national governing council of the community, the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the Philippines. Present were thirty-five delegates while a total of fifty-two ballots were cast for the annual election.
Elected as members of the National Spiritual Assembly for the year Bahá’í Era 168 (2011-2012) were Fe Samaniego from Los Banos, Laguna, Fred Ramirez from Cagayan de Oro Misamis Oriental, Jane Zehtabjadid from Iloilo City, Jerome Alabat from Paranaque, Humaida Jumalon from Cebu City, Altair Carpio from San Jose City Nueva Ecija, Adore Newman from Manila, Stephen Ramo from Tacloban, Leyte and Marianito Dabalos from San Pedo, Laguna.
Delegates at the convention studied the messages from the Universal House of Justice, namely: the Ridván 2011 Message, January 1, 2011 Message, December 28, 2010 Message, August 29, 2010 Message, and Ridván 2010 Message. Counsellor Foad Reyhani, who represented the Universal House of Justice for the National Convention, provided keynotes in all sessions in those three days. He urged the delegates to study over-and-over the five messages and discuss the implications based on their refined understanding their service to the Cause within the new Five Year Plan (2011 – 2016). He steered the discussions to focus on the subjects of: promoting large-scale growth within some of the current strong clusters, while encouraging friends from clusters with existing programs of growth to expand to nearby and even to remote places so as to open up other clusters to a nascent program wherein their own core activities will begin to take place.
Glimpses of Learning Shared
As expected from a National Convention, numerous ideas, narratives of experience, and new commitments were shared. Such details will be a subject of another article in the magazine, The Mirror of Light. For now it will suffice to offer a glimpse:
- This is a joyous time to celebrate the victory of the Bahá’í world of the last Five Year Plan and a new chapter is open before us.
- The Message from the Universal House of Justice dated August 29, 2010 mentions the travels of `Abdu’l-Bahá which ushered the Formative Age of the Bahá’í Dispensation and how the Faith was established in the West. After His travels, `Abdu’l-Bahá wrote the Tablets of the Divine Plan. He had to do all these at a very old age (more than 60 years old) as He was a prisoner almost all His life, and now that He was free, He had to do what had to be done.
- There is still plenty of work left undone in building the World Order of Bahá’u’lláh. The Universal House of Justice tells us that the 100 years anniversary of `Abdu’l-Bahá’s travels is more than just a celebration. It also offers a manifold inspiration and increases our capacity for service in building communities. In our constant efforts to serve in the current global plan of God, we should at all times recall the numerous deeds of `Abdu’l-Bahá.
- Every Bahá’í connects herself/himself to the Universal House of Justice, which is the Head of the Bahá’í Faith for today. It is the successor of the Bab, Bahá’u’lláh, `Abdu’l-Bahá, and Shoghi Effendi. Bahá’u’lláh Himself established it and that it will guide humanity. Never did this happen in the history of mankind. This is the day of maturity. Every individual believer has the capacity to read and understand the messages from the Universal House of Justice, according to his capacity. Therefore there is this connection between him and the Head of the Faith.
- In studying the December 28, 2010 Message, which is lengthy, the advice is to understand paragraphs within the context of the whole and not by portions only. The Ridván 2010 Message and the December 28, 2010 Message are about the Plan. The Ridván 2011 Message tells us how to do the Plan. The study of the Ridván 2010 Message should not be separate from others in order to achieve coherence.
- In the December 28, 2010 Message, the subject of growth or the movement of populations towards the World Order of Baha’u'llah is mentioned. This process has certain important elements; the most important of which is the educational process, which brings about changes in the life and thinking of people because in the heart of the process is the Word of God. Currently the material used in the curriculum is called the Institute process. Also, different clusters have different levels of capacity-building of their human resources. Here, two milestones have been described. These are not goals, just stages that a community passes thru just like the different phases that a tiny rice plant undergoes as it grows from tiny seed into a plant that produces ripe grains.
- In the whole world, there are at least 15,000 clusters, excluding China, Middle East, North Africa and the Arab countries. In the last Plan, established were more tan 1,600 clusters with intensive programs of growth (IPGs). The Universal House of Justice want to increase this number to 5,000 by the end of the current Five Year Plan.
- We need to help our National Spiritual Assembly and the Regional Baha’i Councils raise their capacity to be able to promote the growth of clusters. We need to support the pioneers to establish programs of growth in the clusters they have volunteered to. We need to help some clusters become large.
These points are just a few of the ideas shared throughout the three-day affair. It was spiritually inspiring, touching, and enthralling for the delegates and observers to rise up higher spiritual levels. Many were moved to tears of joy and vowed to expend their new spiritual energies for the advancement of the Cause when they go back to their respective regions.
Message from the Delegates to the Universal House of Justice
In the early part of the convention, the delegates, thru a small task-force, sent a message to the Universal House of Justice. We share the message below:
The 48th National Convention
1070 A. Roxas St. Singalong, Manila, Philippines
168 B.E. (April 21-24, 2011)
Our Most Esteemed Body of the Universal House of Justice,
With loving greetings and warm salutations, we, the 35 delegates in the Philippine Bahá’í National Convention, graced by the presence of the beloved Counsellor Foad Reyhani, two members of the Auxiliary Board, the nine members of the outgoing National Spiritual Assembly, and a number of observers, convey our heartfelt gratitude for the Ridván 2011 message as well as the messages of Ridván 2010, 28 December 2010, 25 March 2007, and 29 August 2010 which served as our guidance and inspiration in consulting on the developments of the Five-Year Plan.
We are delighted to inform you of the election of the new National Spiritual Assembly.
The delegates studied earnestly, with the inspiring guidance of the Counsellor, the Messages from the Supreme Body resulting to a heightened understanding and a renewed, enlightened commitment to fulfill the goals of the Five-Year Plan.
We implore the Supreme Body to offer prayers at the Sacred Threshold that the resolutions of the delegates will bring forth bountiful fruits of endeavour in reaching a stage of opening numerous areas of growth and the speedy enlargement of advanced clusters in the ensuing twelve months.
Ya Baha’ul’Abha!
The delegates of the 48th National Convention
Reply from the Universal House of Justice to the message from delegates:
A few weeks later, the Universal House of Justice wrote a reply to the delegates thru the National Spiritual Assembly. We also share the reply below:
TO: The National Spiritual Assembly
of the Bahá’ís of the Philippines
DATE: 12 May 2011
_______________________________________________________________________________
MESSAGE:
It was with great pleasure that we received the message from the delegates gathered at your National Convention, conveying the spirit of devotion and unity that prevailed on that occasion. The progress witnessed in your community over the past five years is indeed outstanding. We are especially gratified to see the large numbers of young people who have joined the ranks of active supporters of the Faith, a development that augurs well for significant advances in the Plan that has just begun. As the believers forge ahead with determination, they can be confident of our supplications at the Sacred Threshold that the unfailing grace of the Ancient Beauty may reinforce and sustain their dedicated efforts.
The Universal House of Justice
cc: International Teaching Centre
Board of Counsellors in Asia
