THE UNIVERSAL HOUSE OF
JUSTICE
23 May 2016
To the Baha'is of the World
Dearly loved Friends,
In our letter dated 26 March 2016, we described
the response of the Baha'i world to the
Tablets of the Divine Plan, in which 'Abdu'l-Baha urged the friends to travel
"toward the East
and toward the West and enlighten the people with the light of the Most Great
Guidance, so that
they may take a portion and share of eternal life." In the decades
following the issuance of
those weighty Tablets, a stream of believers settled in far-flung corners of
the world and planted
the banner of the Cause of Baha'u'llah amidst divers peoples and nations. While
devoted
pioneers serving in the international arena initially came mainly from North
America, Iran and
Europe, as the Faith has advanced globally, they now hail from numerous spots
across the
planet. Indeed, over the course of the last Five Year Plan, some 1,500 friends
from over 110
countries ventured into this field. At the same time, capacity has gradually
grown in national
communities to foster a systematic process of building vibrant communities, and
the task of
propagating the Faith has come to rest primarily on the shoulders of local
inhabitants labouring
on the home front, where they have the advantage of familiarity with the
language and culture
and can settle more readily in nearby clusters as well as remote areas. That
nearly 5,000
believers arose to serve as homefront pioneers during the last Plan bears
testimony to this
greatly increased capacity and is a source of immense joy to us.
Although in recent years an increasing proportion
of pioneers are serving on the home
front, it is our hope that the friends will continue to consider entering the
international arena,
whenever their circumstances allow. Opportunity is, of course, open to any
believer to arise
and settle where he or she can contribute to the progress of the Plan, yet in
some countries the
need for international pioneers is particularly pressing. In this regard, as
anticipated in the last
pioneer call, throughout the previous Five Year Plan we drew the attention of
selected National
Spiritual Assemblies to specific pioneering needs that arose in relation to ten
special initiatives
that were launched to support the growth and development of the Faith in certain
regions with
the help of friends from several countries. These devoted servants of
Baha'u'llah, working
alongside the local friends, have helped to strengthen the roots of the Cause
in all the countries
covered by these initiatives, bringing greater dynamism to the institute
process and local
community life and, in a number of instances, aiding in the emergence of
institutions. Over the
coming five years, the International Teaching Centre will continue to identify
areas that would
benefit from such endeavours with the expectation that, as a result, by the end
of the Plan there
will be at least one well-advanced intensive programme of growth in every
country in the world
where external conditions allow for such a development.
The deployment of homefront pioneers over the
next five years will be largely guided by
the requirements set out in our message dated 29 December 2015 to the
Conference of the
Continental Boards of Counsellors. As stated in that message, the Five Year
Plan just launched
aims at raising the number of clusters with an intensive programme of growth to
5,000. A
continuing flow of homefront pioneers will contribute significantly to this
monumental goal.
Whatever assistance they are able to provide to further the work of the Plan
is, of course, most
welcome; nevertheless, their efforts will have an even greater effect if,
guided by the
institutions, their capabilities are directed towards specific needs in
clusters where the friends
are labouring to intensify the growth process. While many friends who wish to
serve as
homefront pioneers can make commitments that span years, there are those who
may only be
able to offer shorter periods, sometimes as little as three months. Such
friends can kindle a
spirit of selfless service and transmit valuable experience from stronger
clusters to emerging
ones. In time, they return to their communities much inspired and enriched,
able to contribute
even more effectively to the advancement of their own clusters. We hope that
the friends,
especially the youth who may have the time and determination to do so during
their extended
holidays, w i ll take advantage of the opportunity to enter the pioneering
field in this way.
It is to the two pioneering imperatives set out
above—one primarily in the international
field, the other on the home front—that we now call the friends, confident that
their response,
which with each stage of the Divine Plan grows in both quantity and quality,
will be equal to
the demands before the community of the Greatest Name. The friends who arise to
foster, with
tact, love, unity and fortitude, a pattern of community life in clusters across
the globe will
undoubtedly draw inspiration from the Master's heartfelt cry expressed in the
Tablets of the
Divine Plan: "O that I could travel, even though on foot and in the utmost
poverty, to these
regions, and, raising the call o f ' Y a Baha'u'l-Abha' in cities, villages,
mountains, deserts and
oceans, promote the divine teachings! This, alas, I cannot do. How intensely I
deplore it!
Please God, ye may achieve it."