Regional Bahá’í Councils advancing the processes of the Five Year Plan
National Spiritual Assembly
nsa@bahai.org.uk
7 December 2016
17 Qawl 173 B.E.
All believers in the United Kingdom
Dearly loved Friends,
Almost one year has now passed since we first learned of the goals for the current Five Year Plan. It was on 29 December 2015, in its letter to the Conference of the Continental Board of Counsellors, that the Universal House of Justice announced that the number of clusters in the world where a programme of growth has become intensive must be raised to 5,000 by Riḍván 2021, describing this objective as “truly formidable,” and requiring “herculean labour.”
The demands of the current Plan, and the institutional arrangements necessary to accomplish the work ahead of us, were the subject of earnest consultation last weekend when the members of the newly formed Regional Bahá’í Councils of England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales gathered at the National Hazíratu’l-Quds in London, together with Counsellor Shirin Fozdar-Foroudi and the members of the National Spiritual Assembly, to reflect deeply on their work in the coming year.
With a deeper understanding of the requirements of overseeing the execution of the Five Year Plan, in collaboration with the Counsellors and their deputies, the Councils considered the arrangements necessary to support the heroic efforts of believers throughout the United Kingdom, and made plans for the months ahead.
This gathering was truly an opportunity to forge a unity of vision, during which all came to realise that it would test the capacities of the Councils and its members as never before.
While at the National Hazíratu’l-Quds, three of the four Councils present elected their officers:
Bahá’í Council for England
- Chair: Natasha Wilkinson
- Vice-Chair: Chris Lee
- Secretary: Ronnie Yousefzadeh-Bindra
- Treasurer: Marco Milone
Contact: bce@bahai.org.uk
Bahá’í Council for Northern Ireland
- Chair: Edwina Agahi
- Vice-Chair: Jamie Anderson
- Secretary: Maria Graham
- Treasurer: Claire Parris
Contact: bcni@bahai.org.uk
Bahá’í Council for Scotland
- Chair: Allan Forsyth
- Vice-Chair: Lorraine Fozdar
- Secretary: Ian Fozdar
- Treasurer: Andrew Goodwin
Contact: bcs@bahai.org.uk
The names of the officers of the Bahá’í Council for Wales will be a shared as soon as they are elected.
The National Assembly ardently prays that the endeavours of the Regional Councils may continue to attract the blessings and confirmations of Bahá’u’lláh.
With loving greetings,
Patrick O’Mara,
Secretary