Sunday, Feb. 4 (2 p.m. EST; 7 p.m. U.K.; 8 p.m. Western European) “The Spiritual Destiny of America and the West, Part 2” Dr. Reba Carruth
Sunday, Feb. 11 (2 p.m. EST; 7 p.m. U.K.; 8 p.m. Western European) “The Awakening of Spirit: Mark Tobey and the Evolution of ‘White Writing’” Robert Weinberg
Sunday, Feb. 18 (2 p.m. EST; 7 p.m. U.K.; 8 p.m. Western European) “The Spiritual Destiny of America and the West, Part 3” Dr. Reba Carruth
Sunday, Feb. 25 (2 p.m. EST; 7 p.m. U.K.; 8 p.m. Western European) “A Divine Overture to an Imperious Monarch: A Closer Look at Bahá’u’lláh’s Letter to The Iranian King Násiri’d-Dín Sháh” Sharhokh Monjazeb
Get set for a busy February. The Wilmette Institute is offering four Web Talks (yes, four during the year’s shortest month) with something to enhance everyone’s knowledge about the Faith. For those with an artistic bent, Robert Weinberg will be talking about internationally renowned Bahá’í artist Mark Tobey. For those who would like to know more about America’s and the West’s role in establishing a New World Order, Reba Carruth will conclude her three-part series on the topic with two talks. And Shahrokh Monjazeb will help us take a closer look at Bahá’u’lláh’s letter to the Persian monarch Násiri’d-Dín Sháh. Here is how to sort out your schedule.
FEBRUARY 4 & 18: The Spiritual Destiny of America and the West. On February 4 and 18, in Web Talks spaced two weeks apart, Dr. Reba Carruth will finish her three-part series on “The Spiritual Destiny of America and the West.” Both talks are on Sundays at 2 p.m. Eastern (11 a.m. Pacific, 8 p.m. Western European). You will need to sign up for the two talks separately. In them she will continue her discussion of the historical, Christian, socio-economic, institutional, and normative foundations of America and the West as they pertain to the achievement of the unity of humankind, a world commonwealth, and world peace. Dr. Carruth is an adjunct professor in the McCourt School of Public Policy at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C. Her many publication focus on the United States, the European Union, and United Nations global harmonization of government policy, regulation, and industry standards for the socio-economic integration of nations. She has a book in progress about the global regulation of antibiotic drugs. She has launched a Spiritual Destiny of America initiative the provides public lectures, program support, and historical tours of the White House, the U.S. Capitol, the Library of Congress, Mount Vernon, government buildings, and American historical venues for Bahá’ís and the greater community in the Washington, D.C./Virginia/Maryland region. 
FEBRUARY 11: Mark Tobey and the Evolution of ‘White Writing.’ Anyone wishing to learn more about how the arts can contribute to the growth of the Bahá’í Faith and support a New World Order will want to reserve February 11. On that date, at the usual times, Robert Weinberg, who holds two degrees in the visual arts and music and in art history, will discuss “The Awakening of Spirit: Mark Tobey and the Evolution of ‘White Writing.’” Weinberg notes that Tobey, who became a Bahá’í in his late twenties, received “great acclaim in the middle decades of the twentieth century” for his distinctive approach to abstract painting.” An “inveterate experimenter and a foresighted world citizen,” Tobey’s “major contribution to modern art was his so-called ‘white writing’ style that emerged after decades of experimentation and deep reflection.” Robert will trace the “influences of Tobey’s development” to show that his “breakthrough was the result of a deep knowledge of the art of the past and diverse cultures, and his desire to convey Bahá’í spirituality through his work.” Robert feels that Tobey’s “influence on his contemporaries—ranging from Jackson Pollock to the St Ives school in Cornwall—has not yet been fully acknowledged.”Be sure to read Dr. Rob Stockman’s review (in this issue of the eNewsletter) about an exhibit of Mark Tobey’s paintings at the Addison Gallery of American Art in Andover, Massachusetts, USA, running through March 11, 2018.Robert Weinberg has worked for three decades as radio journalist and producer, authored nine biographies about early British Bahá’ís, and served four years as Director of the Bahá’í International Community’s Office of Public Information in Haifa, Israel. He is currently the chair of the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United Kingdom.
FEBRUARY 25: A Closer Look at Bahá’u’lláh’s Letter to Násiri’d-Dín Sháh. Finally, on February 25, Shahrokh Monjazeb will close out the month with his talk entitled (a mouthful, to be sure) “A Divine Overture to an Imperious Monarch: A Closer Look at Bahá’u’lláh’s Letter to the Iranian King, Násiri’d-Dín Sháh.” In the talk, Shahrokh will “provide a general introduction to and analysis of the major themes of this lengthy and very important proclamatory work of Bahá’u’lláh,” which also rebuts falsehoods that Shi‘a clergy had been disseminating for years against Him and His followers. The talk is the first of three webinars that Shahrokh will give in his course, also starting on February 25, called A Weighty but Gracious Summons to a Despotic Ruler: A Study of the Lawh-i-Sultán (Tablet to the King). The course runs from February 25 through April 14. Registration is now open. Shahrokh Monjazeb, a scholar of Bahá’í history and sacred scriptures, has been involved in the translation of works of Bahá’u’lláh and ‘Abdu’l-Bahá for over two decades and still assists the Bahá’í World Center in a limited capacity. He lectures about the Bahá’í sacred texts and their literary and historical significance in the context of the socio-spiritual condition of human society, frequently at the annual conferences of the Association for Bahá’í Studies. He has published a monograph entitled Bahá’u’lláh: A Brief Survey of His Life & Works.
