Annual Report for 181 B.E.
The National Spiritual Assembly’s Annual Report (Pūrongo Ā-Tau) for 181 B.E., presented during the recent National Convention, offers a reflection on the "major undertaking" set in motion by the Supreme Body, and the unfolding response of the Bahá’í community of Aotearoa New Zealand in the past year.
Delegates to the National Convention were provided ahead of the Convention with the report as a valuable aid for their consultations. It is now available to the wider Bahá’í community. Friends who would like a copy can download a pdf version in electronic form by clicking on the button or are warmly invited to request a hard copy of the published version by contacting the Bahá’í National Office by email (nationaloffice@bahai.org.nz).
The Annual Report captures both the fruits of recent efforts and the expansive possibilities the coming year may offer within the framework of the Nine Year Plan. Opening with an overview from the National Spiritual Assembly, it shares insights into the hopes, plans, and realities faced in the field of service throughout Aotearoa.
The report includes:
A message from the National Spiritual Assembly
Highlights achievements and hopes
Key developments within the context of the Nine Year Plan
Financial overview
Updates from National Institutions and Agencies
Developments in National Administration
A community demographic snapshot
An in memoriam section
The Annual Report publication has a selection of photographs and clear, informative graphics, along with maps for cluster milestone growth in both the South and North Island regions. A few samples are shared in this article.
The National Spiritual Assembly shares in the report:
"The National Spiritual Assembly is mindful that those serving sacrificially in varied roles, whether in an ongoing way in an elected or appointed role, or lending assistance for short-term projects such as the organisation of summer schools, are doing so with a sense of dedication to the Cause of Bahá'u'lláh. We are also aware that the generality of believers who may not be in such roles are likewise serving the Faith in their teaching efforts, whether through their commitment to the institute process and widening their circle of friendships, by praying to be led to a receptive soul, by injecting principles and concepts from the Teachings either directly or indirectly into their conversations with others, by raising children with a love for Bahá'u'lláh and for the beloved Universal House of Justice, or by caring for the elderly and infirm. All service carried out in a spirit of loving-kindness, generosity, and devotion is meritorious and valued. And as the world’s conditions grow darker by the day, the more each of us can step up this service to even higher levels of consecration, the more we are contributing to lighting candles of hope at a gloomy time, when most people have little or no hope in achieving a better world. The very first extract from Bahá'u'lláh’s Writings in the first course of the training institute tells us that each individual has agency to make a difference to the state of the world, thereby helping to release the society-building power of the Faith:
‘The betterment of the world can be accomplished through pure and goodly deeds, through commendable and seemly conduct.’
