|
The principal theme of the second year of the Spiritual Foundations program is "The Individual and the Family in Bahá'í Community." These two vital elements are particularly underlined in the Ridván 1996 message as components of the Four Year Plan. They will be studied from physical, psychological, educational, and spiritual points of view. Also covered will be Bahá'í history from 1863 to 1921, including much of the ministry of Bahá'u'lláh and the entire ministry of 'Abdu'l-Bahá; selected writings of Bahá'u'lláh and 'Abdu'l-Bahá; creative writing skills; and teaching the Faith. Students currently in the program should have already received information about registering for the second year. Applications have been coming in from new students as well. (continued on page 5)
Summer 1997 Schedule
Residential Session (Required):
July 19*- August 8
Irfán Colloquium (Optional):
August 9-10
Fourth Week Studies (Optional):
August 11-15
*Not July 15th, as misstated in the application materials
The Final Stretch
By now you should have completed the final examination (unless, of course, you completed one in September as a student who received credit through National-Louis University). You should also have received all the homework you submitted over the past year. It is very important that you complete the exam and return it. The Spiritual Foundations program seeks to be a rigorous program of study of the Bahá'í Faith as it relates to the world. Allowing some students to skip the final while requiring others to take it would not be fair and would undermine the program.
The deadline for returning the exam was April first. If you need an extension or have any questions, contact Robert Stockman. The exams will be mailed back to you on May 1st, at which time you will also receive home study assignments for the second year.
Week 4, The Baghdad Period
An optional fourth week of classes (August 11-15) will follow the 1997 summer residential session. This fourth week will be devoted to the study of the Revelation of Bahá'u'lláh during the Baghdad Period (1853-63). (continued on page 5)
Inside: Page Letter from the Universal House of Justice 3 Teaching Reports 6,7 Registering for Next Year 2 New Faculty 4 Deepenings/Firesides on Tape 7 Call for Papers 2 Getting Credit 2 Thornton Chase's 150th Birthday 8
Credit will probably be available at the undergraduate and graduate levels through National-Louis University. National-Louis requires that students pay before or during the session unless they are matriculated at that university.
As the material for each year of the Wilmette Institute is created, the Wilmette Institute must apply to National-Louis University to get the course approved. This approval indicates that it meets their standards for credit. We have submitted an application for the second-year course and expect to hear from them in mid-April. This year we are requesting 45 credit hours for in-class study on the development of the individual and the family. This is the length of a typical semester-long course at a university. The course will be worth five quarter-credit hours if you want undergraduate credit or three semester-credit hours if you want graduate credit. We are still waiting to hear the exact price. National-Louis University is scheduled to raise their tuition rates before July, but the new rates have not been finalized. They are likely to be approximately $135 per quarter-credit hour or $200 per semester-credit hour. Thus the course will cost approximately $675 for undergraduate credit or $600 for graduate credit.
Once we are sure of the costs and availability of credit, we will send you a letter. The letter will also include more information about National-Louis University.
The Graduate School of America
Credit will be available again this year at the graduate level through The Graduate School of America (TGSA). TGSA is a virtual university, an institution for graduate level distance education. It offers Master's and Ph.D. degree programs in the following four fields of study: Education, Organization and Management, Human Services, and Interdisciplinary Studies. Students of the Spiritual Foundations for a Global Civilization program may enroll at TGSA for any one of the above degree programs and earn graduate level credits for their Bahá'í studies at the Wilmette Institute. The students of the Institute enrolling in such combined degree programs will receive a special discount for the fees to be paid to TGSA. Those interested in the degree programs are requested to make necessary arrangements before attending the residential session in July 1997. For further information please contact the Wilmette Institute.
Registering for 1997-98
By now you should have received a form to fill out indicating that you plan to come to the second- year (1997) residential program. You must return it with a $300 deposit ($150 for tuition and $150 for dormitory and meals.) You will also receive a payment schedule for the rest of the tuition and residential expenses. Upon registration you must pay half of the tuition ($400) and all of the residential costs (about $650) are due. You must also indicate whether you plan to attend the optional fourth week of classes in July (about $220 in residential expenses plus a $200 tuition charge).
Call For Papers
The Association for Bahá'í Studies has conducted an essay contest since at least 1980. Papers are considered in several categories; one is a "student" category. The paper submitted must be unpublished. The Wilmette Institute would love for its students to submit papers to the Association for Bahá'í Studies every year, and, ideally, win a prize each year. The Irfán Colloquium, which will be held at National-Louis University after the three-week residential program ends (August 9-10), represents a special opportunity to prepare a paper of quality and deliver it to an audience of fellow students and other friends interested in scholarly studies before submitting it to ABS. The Irfán Colloquium is not connected with the ABS contest. Manuscripts for ABS should be submitted to Christine Zerbinis at the Center for Bahá'í Studies, 34 Copernicus St., Ottawa, ON, KIN 7K4, CANADA. Future issues of The Lamp will contain further information.
to the Wilmette Institute 1996 Inaugural Class
This letter was written in response to a letter from the student council of the 1996 residential session. (That letter appears at the bottom of the page.)
Date: 1 August 1996
MESSAGE:
The Universal House of Justice read with keen interest your fax letter of 24 July 1996 together with the status report on the Wilmette Institute, with particular regard to the "Spiritual Foundations for a Global Civilization: A Four-Your Program". We have been asked to convey the following.
The House of Justice was greatly pleased to hear from the members of the inaugural class of this program and to sense their enthusiasm for deepening their knowledge of the Bahá'í Teachings. But it was even more impressed with their express determination to use the benefits to be derived from systematic study of the Faith in renewed service to the community. May unceasing success attend their continuing efforts to uphold the standards that will ensure the emergence of a global civilization.
We are to assure each and all members of the inaugural class of the ardent prayers of the House of Justice in the Holy Shrines that they may be surrounded by divine confirmations.
Department of the Secretariat
Letter to The Universal House of Justice from the Inaugural Class,
Written at the 1996 Residential Session
Dearly Beloved Members of the Universal House of Justice:
"Of all the gifts of God the greatest is the gift of Teaching. It draweth unto us the Grace of God and is our first obligation. Of such a gift how can we deprive ourselves? Nay, our lives, our goods, our comforts, our rest, we offer them all as a sacrifice for the Abha Beauty and teach the Cause of God."
Greetings and a joyous Allah'u'abha to our Supreme Institution from the students of the Wilmette Institute program, Spiritual Foundations for a Global Civilization! As its inaugural residential class, we are striving to follow the Beloved Guardian's directive that, "...Whilst actively teaching, the friends must
themselves be taught and deepened in the spirit of the Faith, which brings love and unity."
The Wilmette Institute is a pilot project of the Institute for Bahá'í Studies being carried out under the aegis of the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'í s of the United States. Its chief mission is to educate and raise up a new generation of teachers of our dearly loved faith. As students of the first residential program, the forty of us are privileged to be studying in the shadow of the Mother Temple of the West. We are young and old, male and female, rural and urban, veteran believers and new, black and white and many shades in between. Our unifying foci are dedication to the Faith of Bahá'u'lláh and our struggle to acquire the gift of Divine Knowledge. (Continued on page 4)
Dr. Saba Ayman-Nolley
Saba Ayman-Nolley received her M.A. and Ph.D. degrees from the University of Chicago. She is an Associate Professor of Psychology and International and Intercultural Studies and Chairperson of the Psychology Department at Northeastern Illinois University in Chicago. Her fields of specialization are developmental psychology and early childhood development and education. Her research areas include children's social development and their development of creativity. She has served as the coordinator of the special education program for the six Head Start programs at the Fort Peck Indian reservation in Montana.
Dr. Ayman-Nolley has received a number of awards for academic and professional excellence as well as scholarships, fellowships, and research grants. She has produced a number of scientific and professional publications and has made over thirty presentations at various scientific and professional conventions and conferences. Dr. Ayman-Nolley is a member of the national Bahá'í Education Task Force, which is charged with developing and implementing a systematic program for the training of teacher educators and preparation of curricular materials for Bahá'í education of children.
Dr. Michael L. Penn
Michael Penn is a Clinical Psychologist and Professor of Psychology at Franklin & Marshall College in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. He received his M.A. and Ph.D. degrees from Temple University in the area of clinical psychology. He has won awards for academic excellence and was nominated for a teaching award.
Michael Penn has published a number of scholarly articles in a variety of areas, including developmental psychopathology, culture and psychopathology, social psychiatry, public health, race relations, and violence against women and girls. He has also published magazine articles on a variety of topics and has given a number of presentations. He is working on a book he hopes will be published in September.
Dr. Penn's Bahá'í responsibilities include serving as an Auxiliary Board member for the mid-Atlantic states.
Letter to Universal House of Justice (continued from page 3)
Our program, which features components of scholarship, service, and presentation skills, illustrates the concept of permanent centres of learning extolled in the Universal House of Justice's Ridván letter to the believers in North America. The course is fostering the development of "necessary skills to effectively teach the faith," and providing the opportunity for us "to embark on a systematic study of the fundamental verities of the Revelation of Bahá'u'lláh." Our studies have given us renewed impetus to follow the directive that enjoins us to "...commit yourselves to the work of the Cause afresh, liberated from any doubts, uncertainties or hesitations which may have impeded you in the past."
We humbly request your prayers for our success in our endeavors and place at your disposal the resources of the Spiritual Foundations program.
Yours in His Service,
The Inaugural Class of Spiritual
Foundations for a Global Civilization
Wilmette Institute Programs for 1997-98 (continued from page 1)
Like last year, the second year of the program will have two aspects--a home study and a three week summer residential session. This year students will be required to take both. This is different from the procedure in 1996-97. Last year, due to certain circumstances, it was decided to start the program with the home-study portion, which resulted in some students taking only that portion. Since this year's home study is actually the continuation of and complementary to the residential session, it cannot be taken alone. Moreover, the residential session is seen as integral to the program. The Wilmette Institute Board has decided that the quality of the four year program would suffer if exceptions to this basic requirement were allowed.
For those who cannot attend the summer session, however, the Wilmette Institute plans to offer an alternative: distance learning or correspondence courses. These will not require a residency and thus will be more flexible and less costly to the students. Such courses may include a list server similar to Global and conference calls. They will be developed as resources allow.
The first course, projected to be available in late 1997, will explore the writings of Bahá'u'lláh. At its core will be a textbook the Wilmette Institute is developing on Bahá'í scripture: a compilation of various writings of Bahá'u'lláh, 'Abdu'l-Bahá,
Shoghi Effendi, H. M. Balyuzi, and Adib Taherzadeh about Bahá'í scriptural works. The textbook will be supplemented by reading the scriptural texts themselves, and by commentaries, outlines, and other materials--published and unpublished.
We do not recommend that our Spiritual Foundations students also take the scripture course, because it will be too time consuming to do both, and some aspects of the scripture course are already integrated into the Spiritual Foundations program. As stated in the brochure about the Spiritual Foundations course, "Bahá'í Scripture" is already a part of the program, as Module F. The Institute is expanding that particular module and making it available as a stand-alone correspondence course.
Current Spiritual Foundations students who are unable to take the summer session this year will be given first priority in registering for the scripture course. If they are able to attend future summer sessions, they will automatically resume their status as students of the Spiritual Foundations program.
If you have any questions about this new policy please call the Wilmette Institute office for further information.
The Fourth Week: The Baghdad Period (continued from page 1)
The Baghdad period represents the opening decade of Bahá'u'lláh's revelation. Some of His most important works were revealed during this time: the Kitáb-i-Íqán, the Hidden Words, the Seven Valleys, and the Four Valleys. This period was characterized by a focus on the mystical and spiritual aspects of religion--the core of all religions--and on the Bábí and Bahá'í Faiths as a fulfillment of the promises of the earlier religions. Bahá'u'lláh also defined many of the Faith's basic ethical and theological principles in this period.
In later periods Bahá'u'lláh focused on proclaiming His mission, revealing His laws, and defining Bahá'í social principles.
The optional course will examine about thirty of Bahá'u'lláh's tablets from the Baghdad period. It will have a text, homework assignments during the fourth week, and some homework assignments to complete in August and September. There is an additional $200 tuition fee for the extra week.
"Community of the Most Great Name"
Carolyn Alperin has been blazing trails with her teaching efforts in her community in North Carolina. She is conducting workshops and firesides on a regular basis. Here is her description of one of the events:
"Soon after returning home from Wilmette, I contacted the school board of the Bahá'í school in Asheville, North Carolina, to arrange a series of Workshops on teaching the Faith. The Asheville Bahá'í community is fortunate enough to have a center where classes for children and adults are held every Sunday morning. They were delighted to have someone volunteer to conduct classes for the adults every second Sunday starting Sept. 8 from 11 a.m. to 12 noon.
"A fellow Bahá'í from the community, Alex Briber, assisted me with the first workshop, `The Nature of Deepening.' Since I was only allotted one hour for this program, I only conducted the first half of the workshop at this time. There were 17 Bahá'ís in attendance for the session. I asked people to read aloud several paragraphs on deepening and teaching. I then divided the class into four groups, told each group to choose one person as secretary, and let them consult about the answers to seven questions relating to the readings. Alex and I walked around to each group and facilitated the discussions. I let them consult for 30 minutes, then I asked each secretary to present the answers to the large group. The groups came up with thoughtful and wise answers, and the discussion was lively. I was very nervous before the class because I had not done
anything like this before. Also, I had felt intimidated because many of the participants knew much more about deepening than I did. However, after I got started and saw that people were having good discussions and enjoying themselves, I started to relax and enjoy the process."
Carolyn has continued her workshops and expanded them to a neighboring community. She and her husband started holding regular firesides in their home on September 11. They are now cooperating with another Bahá'í family in the community to offer firesides each week, renting a room in a centrally located public building.
Keep up the good work, Carolyn!
|
"I was very nervous before the class because I had not done anything like this
before... However, after I got started and saw that people were having good
discussions and enjoying themselves, I started to relax and enjoy the process."
|
Marc Greenburg has been active in his teaching activities in New York. He has started a series of deepenings on The Dawn-Breakers, held about twice a month, complete with homework, at his home in East Meadow, NY. He also recently hosted a talk by Dr. Behrooz Sabet called "Spiritual Transformation: Developing a New World Order" on February 14. His community hosted Dr. Sabet for two other talks as well.
Alice is also running a deepening on the Covenant. The material she uses was developed by Jimmy and Mona Seow, and has been approved for general use. It consists of nine lessons of about nine pages each. At the end of each lesson is a set of short-answer questions (similar to a textbook.) Alice tries to make the project unique to the student by sending out the lessons in a three-ring binder with his or her name on it. After each lesson, Alice gives out the answers, so participants can compare and see if they were correct without the embarrassment of someone grading their paper. At the end each participant has his or her own notebook complete with answers and can teach the course to someone else. Alice currently has 38 students.
Other activities include regular firesides and traveling to five neighboring towns to meet with isolated believers and small groups. She visits each twice a month. On a related note, Alice is pleased to welcome Aleata Dinsmoore, a resident of one of these towns, to the Bahá'í Community. She recently declared her faith after studying the writings and attending Alice's firesides. She is the first Baha'í in Langley, OK. Congratulations to Aleata, and thanks for the great teaching, Alice!
Reminder
"Windows To The Past" audio cassettes are available! Produced by Dr. Darius and Grace Shahrokh, these tapes are a series of deepenings and firesides on the history of the Bahá'í Faith and the early believers. These tapes are highly acclaimed. Their "relevant stories purposefully placed to lighten the concentration or emphasize a point" make them inspiring and informative. Tapes are about $6 each, so order one for yourself and one for a friend! Just contact: IMAGES INTERNATIONAL, 5010 Austin Rd, Hixson, TN 37343, 1-800-470-4525, or locally 423-870-4525.
Pictures, Please!
Do you have pictures from the 1996 Residential session? The Wilmette Institute is collecting photographs for an album and for future publications. We may even use them on a Web page! So if you have pictures, we would really appreciate any donation you could make to the collection. Please send them to the Wilmette Institute, 536 Sheridan Road, Wilmette, IL 60091, USA. Thanks!
-
Lamps
Myriad mirrors of crystaled snow reflect the sun.
Fledgling stars of Bahá'u'lláh's heaven
Attuned to Beauty, Power and Might?
Would it were so!
God's light aglow in the earth burnished soul
See His haven in the darkened night-
Love, joy, peace nearly....
Beyond the reach of mortal sight.
--Carol Bardin
Wilmette Institute Student
In 1898 Thornton Chase had written 'Abdu'l-Bahá and asked for a prayer to say daily for his spiritual growth. 'Abdu'l-Bahá revealed the following prayer, from which the Wilmette Institute's motto ("a Lamp of Thy knowledge among Thy creatures") is derived:
O God, my God! Thou art my Hope and my Beloved, my highest Aim and Desire! With great humbleness and entire devotion I pray to Thee to make me a minaret of Thy love in Thy land, a lamp of Thy knowledge among Thy creatures, and a banner of divine bounty in Thy dominion.
Number me with such of Thy servants as have detached themselves from everything but Thee, have sanctified themselves from the transitory things of this world, and have freed themselves from the promptings of the voicers of idle fancies.
Let my heart be dilated with joy through the spirit of confirmation from Thy kingdom, and brighten my eyes by beholding the hosts of divine assistance descending successively upon me from the kingdom of Thine omnipotent glory.
Thou art, in truth, the Almighty, the All-Glorious, the All-Powerful.
--`Abdu'l-Bahá, Bahá'í Prayers, p. 57-58
