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Transmitted by emailYour letter dated 9 October 2002 providing an update on the work of The and enclosing relevant materials was received by our Office with appreciation. We were pleased to have news of the efforts you are making to support grassroots development activities in your region. We understand that certain questions have been raised about whether endeavors in the field of social and economic development are extraneous to the work of the Five Year Plan, and we are happy to have the opportunity to clarify this matter. Bahá’u’lláh writes that the object of every Revelation is “to effect a transformation in the whole character of mankind, a transformation that shall manifest itself both outwardly and inwardly, that shall affect both its inner life and external conditions”. He also indicates that “All men have been created to carry forward an ever-advancing civilization.” It is clear, then, that Bahá’ís are concerned with more than just increasing their numbers, laying the foundations of their institutions, or establishing the pattern of their community life. In its letter dated 20 October 1983 to the Bahá’ís of the World, the Universal House of Justice writes that “the concept of social and economic development is enshrined in the sacred Teachings of our Faith” and announces that the Bahá’í world community has “grown to the stage at which the processes of this development must be incorporated into its regular pursuits.” It also clarifies the point that these activities should “be viewed as a reinforcement of the teaching work, as a greater manifestation of faith in action.” The promotion of social and economic development has been an element of all subsequent Plans. In introducing the Four Year Plan which began in 1996, the Universal House of Justice writes that “the seven objectives specified for the Six Year and Three Year Plans”—one of which is social and economic development—“describe interacting processes that must advance simultaneously over many decades.” As you are aware, the Four Year Plan, the Twelve Month Plan and the current Five Year Plan have been designed as progressive steps to enable the Bahá’í community to learn how to advance the process of entry by troops. In the Four Year Plan, priority was given to the creation of a network of institutes, and a culture of learning emerged. In the Twelve Month Plan, programs for the Bahá’í education of children were developed and experiments with intensive growth were conducted. In the current Plan, these elements are integrated within a structure of geographical areas, or clusters, to create a pattern of systematic action, in which the processes of expansion and consolidation will reinforce one another. Building unity of thought and action around these central activities does not, however, require that all other pursuits be suspended.
26 December 2002They must continue. A study of the messages of the Four Year Plan makes it clear that, individuals, communities, and institutions are to engage in a variety of endeavors, all of which contribute to collective learning and progress. In the 9 January 2001 message from the Universal House of Justice to the Continental Boards of Counsellors introducing the Five Year Plan, this multifarious and integrated perspective is reinforced: Bahá’í communities are, of course, engaged in a range of indispensable endeavors such as public information activity, proclamation efforts, external affairs work, production of literature, and complex social and economic development projects. Most certainly, as plans are devised, they will also address these challenges.
This message also sketches a pattern of how social and economic development fits into the context of the process of intensive growth, a primary focus of the current Plan. Among the initial goals for every community should be the establishment of study circles, children’s classes, and devotional meetings, open to all the inhabitants of the locality. The observance of the Nineteen Day Feast has to be given due weight, and consistent effort should be made to strengthen the Local Spiritual Assemblies. Once communities are able to sustain the basic activities of Bahá’í life, a natural way to further their consolidation is to introduce small projects of social and economic development—for example, a literacy project, a project for the advancement of women or environmental preservation, or even a village school. As strength builds, the responsibility for an increasing number of lines of action is to be devolved onto the Local Spiritual Assemblies. Of course, Bahá’í communities, national and local, differ with respect to the stage of organic development they have reached and the material and social challenges they face. These differences will naturally be reflected in the communities’ varying levels of involvement in activities for social and economic development. Such activities must be pursued without unduly diverting energies and resources away from the central aim of the Plan. Nevertheless, in the light of the guidance discussed above, it is clear that social and economic development, in its proper context, is an integral element of the work of promoting entry by troops. To fail to engage in development work when the conditions are right is as deleterious to progress as to become prematurely preoccupied with it during the nascent stages of growth and consolidation.
Be assured of our best wishes.National Assembly of the United States (by email)