From the Office of the Treasurer
26 June 2020
4 Raḥmat 177 B.E.
GC-34950
Download as PDF
To all believers in the United Kingdom
Dearly loved Friends,
Over the past few weeks, the National Spiritual Assembly has had the great joy of hosting a number of online Fund Gatherings with friends around the United Kingdom, and offers its deep appreciation to all who took part. The meetings are ongoing and it is hoped that every believer will have the opportunity to participate in the months ahead.
In the first half of the year, the work of the Faith has continued apace and the number of activities has grown considerably. The Regional Institutions are supporting the friends serving in neighbourhoods, especially in advanced clusters, and although costs have decreased slightly over the past three months – because of restrictions on face-to-face meetings – the general expenditure for the teaching work coming from the National Fund is not expected to be significantly lower this year.
Furthermore, work is progressing on the refurbishment of the Bahá’í Training Centre, at the Master’s apartment at 17 Royal York Crescent in Bristol, the Guardian’s Resting Place and the Hub in Belfast. Efforts to identify the site for a future national Mashriqu’l-Adhkár are also advancing.
In April, it was announced that the shortfall to the capital projects stood at £1.8m. Since then, thanks to further generous contributions from the friends, the shortfall now stands at £1.64m. During the Fund Gatherings, it was also shared that this year’s expected deficit to the National Fund will be about £300,000.
It is deeply moving to see how many of the believers have increased their contributions to the National Fund, along with their donations to the capital projects. The spiritual principle of sacrifice, in evidence here, is truly heart-warming. The National Assembly earnestly hopes that even more friends are able to respond to this call, fulfilling another spiritual principle – that of universal participation:
The universal participation of the believers in every aspect of the Faith – in contributing to the Fund, in teaching, deepening, living the Bahá’í life, administering the affairs of the community, and, above all, in the life of prayer and devotion to God – will endow the Bahá’í community with such strength that it can overcome the forces of spiritual disintegration which are engulfing the non-Bahá’í world, and can become an ocean of oneness that will cover the face of the planet…
Messages of the Universal House of Justice 1963 to 1986, p.178
With loving Bahá’í greetings,
Darren Smith,
Treasurer
Click here for the latest international news from the Bahá’í World News Service
To register a change to your personal information, please use the form here.
Continue reading