Plan Midway Conference

Last Weekend's Five Year Plan Midway Conference

By John Taylor; 2009 Jan 14, 15 Sharaf, 165 BE

Let me try briefly to sum up my impressions, lessons learned and suggestions from the meetings in the Toronto Congress Centre last weekend.

The regional conference was one of a few dozen called by the UHJ in order to galvanize the believers to fill the goals. In this case it was Bermuda and Eastern Canada who have to make a supreme effort to meet the mid-plan goal of bringing the number of "A" clusters with IPG's (intensive programs of growth) from 23 to 33 by Ridvan. For full details, consult the UHJ's letter, which I have posted at:

http://badiblog.blogspot.com/2009/01/uhj-10-january-missive-to-regional.html

In view of the Ridvan exigency, I was surprised that there was no effort to rouse the crowd into a frenzy of evangelical fervor. Typical Baha'is. Always rely on people's rationality and responsibility rather than indulge in that good old time religion's emotional arousal. There were not even "pep talks" to speak of, though I agree with my correspondent on this representative of the UHJ's rhetorical skills,

"I think Counsellor Birkland is the best Baha'i speaker I've heard in years. He really made it for me this past weekend."

Mr. Birkland (I call him "Mr." because the UHJ has said that we should not use these services as titles or honorifics -- he signs his letters "Stephen Birkland, Member, Continental Board of etc.") spoke early enough in the morning for me to be fairly alert. Although I was as shaken and stirred as any by what he said, I noted that his inspirational quality came from simply telling stories straight out of the history of the Cause. For example, he told the life story of Ali Kuli Khan in some detail, especially how he met the Master (cf. Marzieh Gail, Dawn over Mount Hera, 193-202).

When he met the Master, Khan fainted dead away. Then he was immediately asked to translate some papers from Arabic to English. Khan objected that he did not speak a word of Arabic. Abdu'l-Baha took up some sweets and said, "Eat these," and of course he miraculously was given the ability to understand and translate that difficult language (foreign service language qualifications reserve a full five years to learn Arabic or Chinese, which puts them among the least learner friendly languages in the world). Gail translates the stuff he ate as "candy," but I think Birkland used the original word, "ghand" or "nabat," which is just the rock sugar that Persians serve with their tea. There is always a bowl of it right next to your teacup. Through the rest of the weekend "nabat" became a byword in our consultations for the miraculous confirmations that we expect from our arising to serve.

In the consultation breakout section on Sunday I was assigned to Niagara Cluster's group. There I suggested that we have coordinated meetings every weekend in at least one of their 11 LSA areas until Ridvan. I pointed out that there are many free services from Google that could help with such a framework for planning, such as their dynamic calendar service. I posted on this blog a YouTube video explaining just how to apply this free service here:

http://badiblog.blogspot.com/2009/01/instructions-on-how-to-use-google.html

In its letter to the conference the House wrote:

"We mark ... the evidences of a blossoming confidence among the friends. How numerous the accounts that attest to the transformation of the timid venturer into the assured practitioner of the Plan's instruments!"

Not all of have become assured practitioners, I can tell you. Me for example.

I admire how the House outlined the weekend's schedule with almost minimalist simplicity. Clearly, virtually the same program is being used everywhere in the world. But let me reiterate what I have often said, if we want to succeed we must use high technology. God has given it to us, why not take advantage? Consider the words the Master wrote after talking about the lesson of the Titanic to rely first on God. Trust Him, He in effect says, but tie your camel too.

"Let no one imagine that these words imply that man should not be thorough and careful in his undertakings. God has endowed man with intelligence so that he may safeguard and protect himself. Therefore, he must provide and surround himself with all that scientific skill can produce. He must be deliberate, thoughtful and thorough in his purposes, build the best ship and provide the most experienced captain; yet, withal, let him rely upon God and consider God as the one Keeper. If God protects, nothing can imperil man's safety; and if it be not His will to safeguard, no amount of preparation and precaution will avail." (Promulgation, 48)

As for the cycle of propagation, consolidation and reflection that we are becoming "practitioners" at, I ran across the following description of the cycle from over three centuries ago,

"It is clearly necessary that those who are to be converted should first be prepared and conditioned for conversion, then converted, and finally confirmed in their conversion." (Comenius, Panorthosia, Ch. 18, para 16, p. 245)

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Recent direct posts to the Badi Blog:

An Esperanto Lullaby

http://badiblog.blogspot.com/2009/01/lulkanto-en-esperanto.html

A human interest news report that the blog Cute Overload calls "smarmy" but which had my wife Marie in tears all the way through it:

http://badiblog.blogspot.com/2009/01/animal-odd-couple.html

My initial report of last weekend's meeting:

http://badiblog.blogspot.com/2009/01/huge-bahai-conference.html

Promo for a recent film with a Baha'i angle:

http://badiblog.blogspot.com/2009/01/charles-ellis-was-founder-of-remarkable.html 

--
John Taylor

email: badijet@gmail.com
blog: http://badiblog.blogspot.com/

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