Dear Friends,
Exported from Holy-Writings.com on 2026-07-04 - 1 clipping

Dear Friends,

 In May of this year the Universal House of Justice wrote to selected National Spiritual Assemblies and to all National Spiritual Assemblies concerning the pressing needs of the Baha'i International Fund. Our National Assembly requested permission to publish the letters and sought clarification regarding the statement in the letter to selected National Assemblies about the purchase of centers. The Supreme Institution responded:

 "The Universal House of Justice has considered your email of 30 June 1999 responding to its two letters of 25 May about the pressing needs of the Baha'i International Fund. We have been asked to express its heartfelt gratitude for your prompt response and willing generosity. It noted with particular appreciation that you had earlier decided to increase your contribution to that Fund.
"You may, as requested, publish these letters for the benefit of your national community.
"Regarding the statement in the letter to Selected National Spiritual Assemblies urging good judgment in not according unduly high priority to local and national needs, your understanding is correct. While it was not intended to prevent the purchase of centers where there is a clearly established need for them, the House of Justice wished to caution against unnecessary and exorbitant expenditures."

 We are pleased to share the referenced letters with you.

With loving Baha'i greetings,

National Spiritual Assembly of the Baha'is of the United States

  The Universal House of Justice

          The Bahá'í World Centre  

Department of the Secretariat

25 May 1999

To selected National Spiritual Assemblies

Dear Baha'i Friends,

 We enclose a copy of a letter now being sent on behalf of the Universal House of Justice to all National Spiritual Assemblies, advising them of the needs of the Baha'i International Fund. It is the confident expectation of the House of Justice that the friends in all parts of the world will respond positively, and that the progress towards the goal of universal participation in contributing to the Funds of the Faith will continue.

 The House of Justice has asked us to inform you that it regards your Baha'i communities as having a special role beyond that of a widespread involvement by the rank and file of the believers in the support of the Fund.

 An appreciable proportion of the members of the Faith in your area have resources far beyond those of the dear friends in other parts of the world who labour under conditions of economic deprivation. Without being subjected to pressure or solicitation, they should be assisted to realize the degree of their responsibility to contribute substantially to meeting the international needs of the Faith.

 At this time when the calls on the Baha'i Fund at all levels of its activity far exceed the amount available, good judgement is specially required in the disposition of the financial resources of the Faith. Two extremes are to be avoided: one, where attention is focused entirely on meeting international needs, and the development of the homefront is hamstrung; and at the other extreme, where the local and national needs are accorded unduly high priority, including the acquisition of expensive Baha'i Centres, and international responsibilities are neglected. Through your wise guidance to the Baha'i community, and through the continuing development of a world-minded consciousness in the believers, the right balance can be found and maintained.

 It is surely evident to any observer of world events that human affairs are now volatile and subject to sudden and unforeseen changes. The friends have an opportunity to ensure that their resources are used for the enduring benefit of the Cause through their sacrificial and generous efforts to support its global activities, at this time when their financial circumstances are so favourable.

 The supplications of the House of Justice will be offered at the Sacred Threshold on their behalf.

With loving Baha'i greetings,

For Department of the Secretariat

  The Universal House of Justice

          The Bahá'í World Centre

Department of the Secretariat  

25 May 1999

To all National Spiritual Assemblies

Dear Baha'i Friends,

 With the Four Year Plan proceeding rapidly toward its conclusion, the Universal House of Justice has decided that it is necessary to provide you with information about the international funds of the Faith. We have been asked to convey the following.

 As a result of the sacrificial contributions from believers everywhere for over a decade, the vast construction project on Mount Carmel is moving toward conclusion with unprecedented speed. The House of Justice is confident that Baha'is throughout the world will continue to meet the need expressed in its 20 June 1995 letter to you for the contribution of ten million dollars each year until the end of the century.

 A new challenge has emerged as a result of the progress of the Faith both at the World Centre and throughout the planet. It is becoming evident that the level of expenditure required from the Baha'i International Fund is rising sharply, due to a combination of the following factors. The Edifices and Terraces on Mount Carmel must be maintained at a standard appropriate to their character and the dignity of the Faith; measures must also be instituted to handle, in an appropriate manner, the greatly increased number of people expected to visit the Terraces and to provide protection from damage. The emergence of the World Administrative Centre on the Mountain of God in all its splendour is attracting increased attention to the Faith, and thus creating new opportunities for extension of the influence of the Cause. The achievements of the energetic and dedicated prosecutors of the Four Year Plan in all parts of the planet, establishing new institutions of the Faith and increasing its human resources, have raised the tempo of the administrative activity at the World Centre, and call for the assignment of more resources to ensure that its work is carried out efficiently and with dispatch. The need for property acquisition in both Haifa and Akka areas to safeguard the serenity of the environs of the Holy Places, to which reference has been made in an earlier letter, remains pressing as the process of urban development in this area accelerates.

 The House of Justice draws your attention to the necessity for increased support of the Baha'i Fund at an international level with full confidence that the impressive record of sacrificial endeavour by the believers will be
sustained in their response to the situation described here. The formulation of budgets at a national and local level should be carried out in the light of these conditions. Above all there should be no interruption to your sustained effort to assist the friends in your area to acquire a deeper understanding of the spiritual obligation binding upon all, irrespective of their circumstances, to contribute to the Funds of the Faith. In particular, those believers who have been blessed with material resources beyond those necessary for their essential needs should ponder deeply the responsibilities resting upon them at this time when the requirements of the Cause are so pressing.

 The prayers of the Universal House of Justice will be offered at the Holy Shrines for the confirmation of their endeavours to assist in the advancement of the Faith.

With loving Baha'i greetings,

For Department of the Secretariat
-- Dear Friends,