From the Council table

Membership Changes

During the last quarter the Baháí Council for Scotland has seen a double change in membership. Andrew Goodwin left both the Council and the country in March in order to take up a position overseas. At the end of the same month Nahid Donald asked to be relieved of membership of the Council for compelling personal reasons. Both Andrew and Nahid have given many years of dedicated service to the Council by whom they will both be missed and fondly remembered. At the same time we warmly welcome two new members to the Bahá’í Council for Scotland, Mrs Wendy Keenan and Mr. Ian Fozdar, each of whom received the next highest numbers of votes in the most recent Council elections. The Training Institute Board has also been newly appointed. Its members are: Rita Docherty, Parvin Morrissey, Ian Fozdar, Peter Ballentyne and Mona Helmy; Mona is the Training Institute Coordinator for Scotland.

Institutional Meeting in Coventry and new Five Year Plan

On the invitation of the National Spiritual Assembly, Council members attended the Institutional Meeting in Coventry from 31st March until 2nd April. This meeting was dedicated to an in-depth study of the 27th December letter from the Universal House of Justice to the Continental Boards of Counsellors. The letter contains the framework of the Five Year Plan which has just started. The goal is to have intensive programmes of growth in 1500 clusters world-wide by the end of this plan. Such a task will require not only intense focus but also common sense, balance and a humble spirit of learning. The Council is convinced that all of the friends in Scotland can make a significant contribution towards the maintaining of this intense focus with the spirit of consecration, zeal, confidence and tenacity, which the Universal House of Justice reminds us “attest to the enhanced vitality of their faith.”
At the heart of the process of growth is the study circle. When a person is invited to join a study circle, they are being invited to join this process of growth, which leads, in many cases, to the individual enrolling as a Baha'i and going on to become a tutor himself. This multiplication contributes to the achievement of our ultimate goal of bringing the message of Bahá’u’lláh to all of Scotland. The Council urges everyone to prayerfully consider where their energies can best be directed in the next few years. The need for balance is illustrated by the following passage from the 27th December letter:
To maintain focus does not imply that special needs and interests are neglected, much less that essential activities are dropped in order to accommodate others. Clearly, there are a host of elements that comprise a Bahá’í community life, shaped over the decades, which must be further refined and developed... For example, prayer is an essential element of everything we do; all can contribute to the fund; administration is required to ensure the basic functioning of a community; external affairs work influences processes leading to world peace. But most importantly, we must all steel our resolve and overcome our inertia to make the next five years see the decisive turn-around in the advancement of the process of entry by troops in Scotland.
With loving Bahá’í greetings,
The Bahá’í Council for Scotland

A new Scottish fund for the Edinburgh Centre.

The Bahá’í Council for Scotland is overjoyed by the swift and dramatic developments over the past year which have led to the acquisition of the new Centre in Edinburgh’s Albany Street. The most impressive aspect of these developments has been the sacrificial donations made by the friends from all across the UK, leading to a wonderful situation where every last penny of the amount required has been paid before the end of the Five Year Plan.
Attention is now turning to the work required in preparation for the opening of the new Centre. It is anticipated that the current tenants will be leaving in September 2006. Given the instruction from the Universal House of Justice that the Centre be a place with ‘facilities for the reception of distinguished visitors’, the new Centre will need to be maintained to the highest standards.
While the Centre will belong to the Spiritual Assembly of Edinburgh, it will have a dual role both as a Centre for that community and as a focus for Scottish events. The annual maintenance costs for the new Centre are not yet fully established but will certainly be considerably higher than those for the previous Centre in Leith. For these reasons, the Council wants the whole Scottish community to assist in the annual upkeep, at least for the first few years.
In consultation with the National Assembly, the Council has arranged with the Finance Office to set up an Edinburgh Centre Maintenance Fund to which the friends in Scotland can make donations and has set a target of £10,000 to be raised for that fund between now and Naw Rúz 2007. The Council is confident that the community can rise to this challenge in the same way as the whole UK community did for the acquisition of the Centre. Regular updates will be given out in order for us to see how the fund is developing. To make a donation to the fund, simply make a payment to the National Spiritual Assembly with a note that it is for the Edinburgh Centre Maintenance Fund. If you are a tax-paye your donation can be increased by also completing a Gift Aid form, if you have not already done so.
Many friends have already made donations in cash and in kind towards the new Centre and these have all been gratefully received. At this stage, donations that generate cash offer the greatest possible flexibility to the institutions in their aim of meeting the aspirations of our beloved Universal House of Justice. It should be borne in mind that, if you have a specific item which you wish to donate, no guarantee can be made that it will be used in the new Centre. The interior design of the Centre has not yet been carried out. It will however, require a consistent style and an ambassadorial standard and so may not be able to accommodate all donated items.
The Council looks forward to further exciting developments in the year ahead and prays that the opening of the new Centre will be everything that we could have wished for.
With loving Bahá’í greetings
Allan Forsyth (e: allan.forsyth@iscali.co.uk)
Chairman, Bahá’í Council for Scotland