Eighteenth of Qawl (Speech), 154 B.E.
(December 11, 1997)

To: the Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of Milwaukie
Re: Thanksgiving retreat on the Covenant

Dearly loved coworkers,

This will be a brief report to try to describe the highlights of the recent GOBI youth retreat in Pacific City over Thanksgiving weekend in which we studied the materials on the Covenant recommended by the National Spiritual Assembly in their recent letter to all local spiritual Assemblies. We were at maximum capacity for the wonderful house we rented -- 24 youth plus myself. Having a total of nearly three days gave us ample time to really dig into the Covenant material in depth. The booklet produced for this retreat was a tremendous hit -- everyone was very happy to have all this material "under one cover". The participants read nearly the entire 160 pages during the three days.

Our first evening, after arrival and set-up, we held an observance of the Ascension of 'Abdu'l-Bahá with candle light, reading of word portraits taken from a variety of sources by the early believers describing 'Abdu'l-Bahá and some of their very personal experiences with him, then a reading of the English translation of the recorded chant followed by all of us quietly listening to the voice of 'Abdu'l-Bahá. We ended with the Tablet of Visitation for 'Abdu'l-Bahá. The schedule for this retreat has always been on a "youth" timetable, so none of us got to bed until nearly 3:30 AM.

The following day the three sessions were devoted to the reading of the Kitab'i'Ahd, a presentation on the structure and organization of the Bahá'í administration, and an intensive small group study of all the parts of the Will and Testament of 'Abdu'l-Bahá relating to the Guardian, the Universal House of Justice and the Hands of the Cause. I was gratified to see the youth study this document on their own with a little help from a facilitator just to answer simple questions. Their assignment was to find and notate every paragraph that contains any reference to the above, study those paragraphs, and be ready to apply that knowledge the next day. By the end of the third session, this group of youth was armed with a fundamental knowledge of the Covenant and was ready to take on the time period after the death of the beloved Guardian, Shoghi Effendi.

After trips to the beach, a rousing midnight group game and late-night talking we again were quiet and nearly all asleep by about 4:00 AM.

Day three dawned by 11:00 AM and we were again off and running with three intensive sessions centered around the time period between 1957 and 1963. During breakfast some of the youth had hung the mounted pictures and name placards of all 27 of the Hands of the Cause who were alive at the time of the passing of the Guardian from the balcony of the loft overlooking our meeting area. In their presence, so to speak, we spent the day piecing together those grief-stricken days and thoroughly acquainting ourselves with the ministry of the Custodians, the International Bahá'í Council, and the details of the happenings following the Guardian's death. As the day wore on, the love and admiration of these youth, most of whom had only a bare awareness of the existence of the institution of the Hands of the Cause, became a living flame of gratitude to each of these precious souls.

Our first session, spent together in the large group, covered the events of history, studied the institution of the Hands, read the description by Rúhíyyih Khánum of the passing of the Guardian and the steps taken by the Hands, studied their first conclave message, and became acquainted with the appointment and purposes of the first International Bahá'í Council. Once the basic historical facts were known, we looked at the defection of Mason Remey, discussed and answered questions about him (it is sooo puzzling that a Hand of the Cause would do such a thing…) and prepared for our small group sessions in which we would refute his claims. Sometime during that second session one of the youth quietly removed Mason Remey's picture from the gallery of the Hands.

The final study session of the day was spent in small groups studying the Will and Testament of 'Abdu'l-Bahá to refute the claims of Mason Remey. We did a wonderful exercise in which, first, the claims of Mason Remey were read from the letter of the Hands of the Cause. With an agreement amongst ourselves that we wouldn't read the Hands refutation of those claims yet, small groups were directed to develop a presentation, based on the Will and Testament, to refute the claims. Then, in the large group, as the presentations were shared we scored ourselves for each point made by any group. Finally we read the letter from the Hands to all National Spiritual Assemblies refuting the claims of Mason Remey, noting each point made by the Hands of the Cause. The final outcome: Youth, 7 points; Hands of the Cause, 9 points. It was a dramatic demonstration of the power of the divinely assisted Chief Stewards of the Faith! By the end of that session, the entire group was clearly able to discuss the provisions of the Will and Testament with regard to the appointment of a Guardian, and was deeply confirmed and very clear about the power of the Covenant.

Later that night, again by candle light, a solemn tribute to the Hands of the Cause was staged. Using a powerful flashlight as a spotlight to illumine each picture in turn, we read the names the Hands of the Cause one at a time and shared their stories in an atmosphere of quiet contemplation and gratitude. As we read the tribute of the Universal House of Justice everyone was deeply moved and we ended with a reading of the prayer for the Hands of the Cause. The youth were so touched by their gratitude and awe of the Hands that they quietly filed away to bed without their usual banter.

The following morning we finished up with the questions raised in the letters by the Universal House of Justice regarding the House of Justice and the Guardianship. By this time, with such a familiarity with the provisions of the Will and Testament and the history following the passing of the Guardian, the youth quickly grasped the concepts covered by the House of Justice in their letters answering questions about the infallibility of the House of Justice, the timing of its election, etc. The information in the Flow of Divine Authority article was easily understood and absorbed, with many of them recognizing the quotes from previous day's study.

Our final activity was generated by the participants themselves as they designated a couple of their cohorts to draft a letter to Mrs. Sears conveying their deep love and admiration for Hand of the Cause William Sears and forwarding contributions from them all for the memorial marker being raised at his gravesite. While most were scrubbing, vacuuming and cleaning the house prior to departure, the newest Bahá'í amongst them, chosen for her writing ability and another youth, one of the youngest participants, drafted the moving letter (enclosed) to accompany their spontaneous outpouring of love for Mr. Sears and all the Hands.

With warmest regards,

Erica Toussaint

cc: Counselors
      National Spiritual Assembly
      Western Regional Council