Location
Delegate to the 104th Baha'i National Convention, Robert Malouf, visted the Beloit Baha'i community June 10th to report the highlights of the event, which was held April 26th-28th in the Chicago area. Of the 174 elected delegates throughout the United States, 168 attended the convention.
Malouf, who has attended other Baha'i National Conventions, said the spirit present this year was "different" and special because of the 100th anniversary of the visit to America of `Abdu'l-Bahá, Center of the Covenant.
The following is some of the topics and information from the convention passed along by Malouf.
1) There was a report on continued "cluster building" with an emphasis on better planning.
2) Delegates were told the current "Institute" process is shaping a new generation of Baha'i youth.
3) There is an increase in the harrassment and imprisonment of Baha'is in Iran.
4) More contributions to the Baha'i National Fund are being made electronically. In the past year 46% of all money sent to the National Fund was done online. Malouf also said young people are making most of their contributions with their smart phones linked to the internet. (I-Phone, Android, etc)
5) Bahai's in the United States will soon be able to make contributions to their local Baha'i treasurer online. Malouf said delegates were told the feature should be available some time this summer, possibly in July.
Those in the above picture are:
Front row left to right, Sue Alexander, Robert Malouf, Leslie Rennie.
Back row left to right, Rob Butz, Susan Sperry Benton, Monica Grismer, Steve Benton