Messages to Canada | Page 6

beloved Faith in that vast and
richly blessed Dominion.
SHOGHI.

Letter of June 23, 1950
June 23, 1950.
The National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of Canada
Your letters ... have been received by our beloved Guardian, and he has
instructed me to answer you on his behalf.
He feels sure you will understand the reason for the delay in answering
your letters--and, indeed, all the other N.S.A.s' letters--when he
explains that not only has this been a terrific winter of work in
connection with the construction of the Shrine, but since the beginning
of April my dear father, Mr. Maxwell(7), has been dangerously and
desperately ill. The anxiety this caused us all, and the constant coming
and going of doctors, nurses, and two periods in hospital, has
necessitated putting aside all correspondence for months. Now,
however, thank God, Mr. Maxwell is slowly improving, and the threads
of normal existence can be taken up again by us all.

The Guardian was very happy to note the community increased this
year by 66. He was also delighted to see your Assembly arranged for
all delegates to be present. This is very important, especially during this
period when full consultation and cooperation is necessary amongst all
the far-flung Canadian Assemblies and groups, as well as isolated
believers, in order to ensure the success of your first and so important
Plan.
He approves of the measures you have inaugurated for intensive
teaching during the coming year, and trusts they will meet with great
success.
The British victories, in the face of great obstacles, and the consistent
success across the border in the U.S.A., must be at once an inspiration
and a challenge to the Canadian friends. There is no doubt they can
succeed if the entire community applies itself eagerly and confidently
to its task.
SETTLEMENT OF PIONEERS IN NEWFOUNDLAND
The Guardian is immensely pleased over the settlement of pioneers(8)
in Newfoundland; this has accomplished one of the specific desires of
the beloved Master, and will redound to the glory of the Canadian
Bahá'ís.
The next, most important task is to get Miss Gates(9) into Greenland.
This is fraught with many difficulties, but he urges your Assembly to
persevere and exert its utmost to remove every obstacle. He will
specially pray that a way may open for her to enter that country.
Regarding your question about contributions: it is up to the individual
to decide; if he wishes to denote a sum to a specific purpose, he is free
to do so; but the friends should recognize the fact that too much
labelling of contributions will tie the hands of the Assembly and
prevent it from meeting its many obligations in various fields of Bahá'í
activity.
Concerning the points your Assembly raised in the letter of December

20, 1949:
The Guardian is very anxious that no new rules and regulations should
be introduced. As far as possible each N.S.A. should decide secondary
matters for itself, and not try to lay down a rule general in application.
Bahá'u'lláh gives no right of appeal to the law that both parents must
give permission to the marriage, if they are living--Bahá'í marriages
should be referred to assemblies to officiate; where there is no
Assembly to officiate your body is free to decide what procedure
should be followed. Whether it is the chairman or secretary or some
other person who actually conducts the marriage is, likewise, a matter
for your body to decide.
The Guardian has not found it desirable, for various reasons, to send a
recorded message to any Convention.
TEACHING THE CANADIAN INDIANS
The work being done by various Bahá'ís, including our dear Indian
believer(10) who returned from the United States in order to pioneer
amongst his own people, in teaching the Canadian Indians, is one of the
most important fields of activity under your jurisdiction. The Guardian
hopes that ere long many of these original Canadians will take an active
part in Bahá'í affairs and arise to redeem their brethren from the
obscurity and despondency into which they have fallen.
The desire of your Assembly to remain in the closest touch with the
Guardian pleases him very much--he assures you that the desire is
mutual!
With the assurance of his loving prayers for you all.
Yours in His service, R. RABBANI.
P.S. The maps you forwarded were of great interest, and he thanks you
for them. He intends to have one of them published in the next edition
of "Bahá'í World."

Dear and Valued Co-workers:
The progress achieved in various fields by the members of the
Canadian Bahá'í Community under the direction of its national elected
representatives, since the inception of the Five Year Plan, merits the
highest praise, and augurs well for its success in the years that lie
immediately ahead. The spontaneity with which