Dear Bahá’í Friends,
Recent events have given rise to eleven vacancies in the membership of the Continental Boards of Counselors. Mr. Adib Taherzadeh has been elected to the Universal House of Justice; Dr. Farzam Arbab, Mr. Hartmut Grossmann, Mrs. Lauretta King, Mr. Donald Rogers, Mrs. Joy Stevenson and Mr. Peter Vuyiya have been appointed as Counselor members of the International Teaching Center.
In addition, ill health has sadly made it impossible for Dr. Chellie Sundram to continue his services as a Counselor for Asia, Dr. Iraj Ayman and Mrs. Thelma Khelghati have been compelled by circumstances beyond their control to leave, respectively, the continents of Asia and Africa in which they were serving, and Mr. Adam Thorne has had to resign, for personal reasons, from the Continental Board of Counselors for Europe. We wish first to express our profound appreciation of the contributions these dear friends have made to the advancement of the Cause of God during their years of service as Counselors, and we pray that the blessings of Bahá’u’lláh will surround them in all they undertake in the future.
We now have great happiness in announcing the appointment of the following believers as Continental Counselors:
Africa: Mr. George Allen and Mr. Hizzaya Hissani
The Americas: Mr. Gustavo Correa, Mrs. Jacqueline Delahunt
and Dr. William Roberts
Asia: Dr. Kim Myung-Jung and Mrs. Shantha Sundram
Australasia: Mrs. Violette Haake
Europe: Mr. Patrick O'Mara, Mrs. Elisabeth Mühlschlegel and
Dr. Shapoor Rassekh.
Furthermore, as two of the Counselors now appointed to the International Teaching Center had been Trustees of their respective Continental Funds, we now appoint Counselor Peter McLaren to be Trustee of the Continental Fund in the Americas, and Counselor Ben Ayala to be Trustee in Australasia.
As was abundantly apparent at the time of the Sixth International Bahá’í Convention and in the meetings of the Counselors which followed, the Bahá’í world has entered on a stage of the greatest importance in its development, when the teaching work throughout the world must be in the forefront of the thoughts of every ardent follower of Bahá’u’lláh. The challenges and opportunities are great, and are increasing in number with each passing day. We supplicate the Almighty to grant an unprecedented measure of divine confirmation to the institutions of His embryonic World Order and to His faithful believers who are laboring for the diffusion of His Message in every region of the globe.
With loving Bahá’í greetings,
The Universal House of Justice
(Messages from the Universal House of Justice 1986-2001)
