YOUNG AT HEART
Bahá'í Newsletter
May 2002



Mission Statement

To facilitate seasoned Bahá'ís to utilize their life and professional experiences, talents 
and resources, knowledge and skill in continued service to Baha'u'llah.

Announcements

For those of you who have a change of snail-mail or e-mail address, please notify us so 
that we can continue sending you the Young At Heart newsletter. Mark your calendars 
now for the Desert Rose Conference to be held at the Desert Rose Bahá'í Institute over 
Thanksgiving. The dates are November 28 to December 1 and will be held in Eloy, 
Arizona. For further information contact the Desert Rose Conference at: 5688 Tweedy 
Road, Eloy, AZ 85231-9611. E-mail: drbi@cgmailbox.com. Phone: 520-466-7961. Stay 
tuned for further updates.

News

"Make thyself the servant of all, and serve all alike."

One of the ideas that was suggested at Louhelen a few years ago was that of putting 
captions on all the TV videos from National much like closed captioning. This would 
enable our hard of hearing friends to better understand the messages from National. Also, 
it has been suggested that signing be a part of the video process. Maybe someone out 
there who knows signing could offer this type of service to National. Did you know that 
there are large print and Braille books of the writings? There is a catalog of these at: 
WDPeary@aol.com. Bill Peary is the person to contact. 

"Serve with spirituality and joy."

There is so much service that is needed within our community. Your Regional Council or 
any LSA would love to have someone offer to make phone calls to encourage attendance 
at activities, to fold newsletters, to transport those that need a ride to activities, plan 
regular devotional meetings in the home, to get a fireside going, to liven consultation at 
Feast by asking that a convention report be arranged, that there be a report on the cluster 
concept, that the Huququllah representative give a presentation, and so many other ideas 
that need to be presented. And don't forget to mention Bahá'u'lláh every day to someone 
who is not a Bahá'í.  

"Now is the time for service. Now is the time to serve."

For those of you who like to read, there is a book just out about the travels of our beloved 
Amatu'l-Bahá Ruhiyyih Khanum and her travels through Africa with Violette 
Nakhjavani called The Great African Safari. Talk about service. These two wonderful 
women traveled for well over three years throughout Africa and other places in service to 
Bahá'u'lláh. Amatu'l-Bahá was not that young when she made this trip, and for her to 
keep going with the love and energy necessary for such an adventure is absolutely 
remarkable! She is truly an example for all of us. The book is long and very interesting. 
Well worth the read.

"Think ye at all times of rendering some service to every member of the human race. Let 
him do some good to every person whose path he crosses and be of some benefit to him."

This has been a remarkable spring for information coming from the Universal House of 
Justice and from the International Teaching Center there. If you haven't done so, do read 
the message the Universal House of Justice sent to the religious leaders of the world. It is 
absolutely stunning! I do not know how this epistle ranks in importance in the Bahá'í 
world, but I do know that I personally got the feeling that it ranks right up there with 
Baha'u'llah's messages to the kings and rulers of the world. Another important message 
is the words that Dr. Penny Walker of the ITC in Haifa expressed in a speech given this 
past February in Houston. In it she talks about the importance of the Fifth Epoch, the 
importance of Institutes, and the importance of inviting those who are not Bahá'ís to our 
functions except, of course, to Feast. These messages can be found at: www.usbnc.org for 
those of you who have computers. For those who do not, your nearest LSA or group has a 
copy of the message to the religious leaders of the world. And maybe a friend who has a 
computer will print out the other message for you. 

"Service is the magnet that attracts divine confirmations."

There is still a tremendous need for travel teachers and pioneers both in this country and 
overseas. For this country, contact your Regional Council, and for overseas contact the 
Pioneer office at National. This is not for everyone, but for those who are able, it is an 
extraordinarily gratifying experience and one in which I strongly urge you to participate.

"Work performed in the spirit of service is worship."

As always, we look forward to hearing from you. To receive an e-mail or letter from you 
is so uplifting. By the way, the above quotes are from Shoghi Effendi.

Warmest love to all of you!

Judith Griffin 
judith95@netins.net                                                                        

Virginia Harden
vharden@mail.rlrnews.com