- 1977-12-30 — The third Annual Bahá'í Studies was held at Rosemary Heights, in Surrey, BC. A record 168 registrants attended the 12 formal presentations and many viewed an art display arranged for the Association by local Bahá'í artists.
The Annual Meeting is composed of three distinct elements:
1) The membership meeting, during which the executive of CASBF, appointed by the National Spiritual Assembly, reviews the budget and consults with the membership on the aims and direction of the Association.
2) A forum for the formal presentation of original papers and reviews of subjects pertinent to the Faith. Peer review of submitted manuscripts and scheduled discussion of designated papers are intended to maintain a high level of scholarship.
3) The opportunity for Bahá'ís with scholarly interests to meet and informally discuss their own studies and the work of the Association.
This year's meeting was marked by the active participation of Bahá'í youth, many of whom came from the Pacific Youth Conference on Vancouver Island. The National Spiritual Assembly recently assigned CASBF a membership goal of 200 youth, and has consequently encouraged Canadian youth to become involved in its work.
The executive also underlined the need for more input from Association members with regard to the possibility of establishing courses on the Faith in specific institutions of higher learning, and in identifying reference materials which contain statements about the Faith.
Formal presentation of the following 12 papers.
1) "Health and Healing", by Dr. Hossain Danesh (presented by Dr. Peter Morgan).
2) "A Review of Maitrya-Amitabha Has Appeared", by Jane Nishi-Goldstone.
3) "The Rise and Fall of the Russian Bahá'í Community: An Historical Sketch", by Anthony Lee.
4) "In Search of a New Visual Myth", by Keith Bloodworth.
5) "The World Centre of the Bahá'í Faith: An Analysis of the Sacred Landscape", by Ken Goldstone.
6) "Nazorean/Ebionaean Christianity and the Emergence of Historical Theology", by Christopher Buck.
7) "Zarathustra and the Bahá'í Faith", by Alan Coupe [no 'r'; later Doug Couper].
8) "Towards a Universal Auxiliary Language", by Kay Balser.
9) "Erikson and the Worldwide Crisis of Identity", by Dr. Anne Schoonmaker.
10) "The Legal Personality of Baha'i Assemblies", by Richard Heiser.
11) "The Dispersion of the Baha'i Faith in North America", by Michael Vermilyea and Spike Hampson.
12) "Human Rights as God-given Rights", by William Barnes. [BC Issue No 312 February 1978 p5]
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