Dear Baha'i friends,
We have been directed by the Universal House of Justice to convey its loving appreciation for the devoted and wholehearted co-operation each of you, as a host National Assembly, extended to its official representative, Mr Borrah Kavelin, in the series of meetings arranged in North America and in Europe extending over a ten-week period that ended on 31 August.
In all, 42 meetings were held in 33 cities. It is estimated that a total of more than twelve thousand friends were in attendance at the series of meetings, and that all national Baha'i communities in Europe were represented in that number. It is hoped that the intended distribution by all host National Assemblies to Local Spiritual Assemblies of copies of the taped message of the Universal House of Justice's representative will reach the widest possible number of friends in all countries within the scope of the assigned mission.
Already, the magnificent response by National and Local Spiritual Assemblies, and by untold numbers of friends, received by the World Centre in the form of commitments and generous and sacrificial contributions, is a noble testament to the wholehearted acceptance of the challenge facing the Baha'i world in the opening two-year phase of the Seven Year Plan, and to the redemption of the ransom imposed upon the beloved friends in the Cradle of the Faith, even as the clouds of persecution and oppression continue to darken the horizon in that troubled land, as evidenced by the tragic news of the severe damage recently inflicted on the Blessed House of the Bab in Shiraz.
The Universal House of Justice is serenely confident that each of you, in collaboration with the institution of the Continental Board of Counsellors, will maintain, and indeed enhance, the high level of activity called for in successfully overcoming the crisis we face. Ardent and loving prayers at the Divine Threshold will be offered for the blessings and confirmations of Baha'u'llah to surround you in your devoted labours.
With loving Baha'i greetings,
Department of the Secretariat
(‘Messages from the Universal House of Justice, 1963-1986’)
