Need for “close collaboration of the institute, the
Auxiliary Board members and their assistants, and an Area Teaching Committee”
Programmes initiated in such areas should aim at fostering
sustainable growth by building the necessary capacity at the levels of the
individual, the institution, and the community. Far from requiring grandiose
and elaborate plans, these programmes should focus on a few measures that have
proven over the years to be indispensable to large-scale expansion and
consolidation. Success will depend on the manner in which lines of action are
integrated and on the attitude of learning that is adopted. The implementation
of such a programme will require the close collaboration of the institute, the
Auxiliary Board members and their assistants, and an Area Teaching Committee.
(UHJ, 9 Jan. 2001)
Plans of ATC should also include “an analysis of approaches
to be adopted and lines of action to be followed” – “visions, strategies, goals
and methods have to be re-examined time and again”
The plans of action that Regional Councils, Area Teaching
Committees and Local Spiritual Assemblies devise in the ensuing process need to
go beyond the mere enumeration of goals to include an analysis of approaches to
be adopted and lines of action to be followed. Indeed, at this level, planning
and implementation must go hand in hand. If learning is to be the primary mode
of operation in a community, then visions, strategies, goals and methods have
to be re-examined time and again. As tasks are accomplished, obstacles removed,
resources multiplied and lessons learned, modifications have to be made in
goals and approaches, but in a way that continuity of action is maintained.
(UHJ, 9 Jan. 2001)
The launching of an intensive program of growth and the need
for “interaction” and “close collaboration” among the entities involved
You have, likewise, observed how the conditions thus created
in such clusters have made it possible to launch intensive programs of growth,
in which large numbers of friends eagerly participate in the learning that
takes place through successive cycles of activity seeking to integrate
well-coordinated collective action with effective individual initiative. And
you are equally aware of how interaction among three entities—the institute,
the Auxiliary Boards, and the Area Teaching Committee—in close collaboration
with responsive Local Spiritual Assemblies, can help carry the friends from one
cycle to another and accelerate the learning process. (On behalf of the UHJ to
NSA of USA, 19 October 2005)
The cluster’s “strong infrastructure” that makes “possible
for many decisions related to the process of growth to be made by those most
intimately involved in their execution”
In its 9 January 2001 letter, the Universal House of Justice
placed the locus of the cluster planning work on three entities at the cluster
level: "The implementation of such a programme will require the close collaboration
of the institute, the Auxiliary Board members and their assistants, and an Area
Teaching Committee." In advanced clusters these entities are directly
focused on the planning and execution of teaching plans, ensuring that the
victories are immediately consolidated, learning is captured, and appropriate
adjustments quickly made. Taken together, the three agencies constitute a
strong infrastructure, making it possible for many decisions related to the
process of growth to be made by those most intimately involved in their
execution. (International Teaching Centre, ‘Impact of Growth on Administration
Processes’, July 2005)
Secretary of the Area Teaching Committee, institute
coordinators and development facilitators
A critically important aspect which cannot be deferred for
long is the significant investment of time required from the cluster agencies,
in particular the training institute coordinator and the secretary of the Area
Teaching Committee -- occasionally referred to as the cluster development
facilitator. Experience is showing that where the number of core activities,
the various campaigns related to the teaching work, and the tasks related to
the collection of statistics, among other duties, reach a certain level of
complexity, part - and eventually full-time workers are required. In such
instances, institute coordinators and development facilitators, functioning
with increasing effectiveness, are proving indispensable to the greater
mobilization of the rank and file of the believers and the continuity of
teaching and consolidation efforts. (International Teaching Centre, ‘Impact of
Growth on Administration Processes’, July 2005)
The evolving roles of training institute coordinators, Area
Teaching Committee, and Auxiliary Board members – responding to “the demands of
growth”
Encouraging, too, are the determined steps being taken by
National Spiritual Assemblies, in collaboration with the Counsellors, to
respond to the administrative challenges brought by large-scale growth at the
cluster level. Schemes that are emerging tend to call for one or more
individuals named by the training institute to coordinate the delivery of
courses in the main sequence, as well as programmes for children and junior
youth. An Area Teaching Committee appointed by the Regional Council, or by the
National Assembly itself, is also required to administer other aspects of
systematic effort to achieve accelerated expansion and consolidation. Auxiliary
Board members work on both fronts to ensure that the two movements which have
come to characterize the process of growth proceed unhampered. While these
various components are being established in cluster after cluster, there is
still much to be learned about the functions each is to perform and about the
relationships among them. What is important is that the current degree of
flexibility, which allows for the creation of new instruments as needed, not be
compromised so that the scheme of coordination represents a response to the
demands of growth itself. We count on you and National Assemblies to guide this
learning process. (UHJ, 27 December 2005)
“[N]eed to examine the dynamics of growth on a regular basis
and analyze the way in which these elements are working together”
The present Five Year Plan calls for an understanding of how
the diverse elements described in that message come together to create
conditions conducive to the growth of the Faith. In every cluster the
institutions and agencies guiding the process - the Auxiliary Board members and
the institute, together with the Area Teaching Committee - need to examine the
dynamics of growth on a regular basis and analyze the way in which these
elements are working together, in order to identify gaps and determine what
adjustments should be made. The analysis thus achieved must, of course, be the
subject of thorough consultation in a reflection meeting with the generality of
the believers, drawing them into the decision-making process. (On behalf of the
UHJ to NSA of USA, 19 April 2007)
A “cluster-level system born of exigencies” – “Intimately
connected to… grassroots consultative process”
A similar space is opened by the institute, which makes
provision for those serving as tutors, children’s class teachers, and animators
of junior youth groups in a cluster to meet severally and consult on their
experience. Intimately connected to this grassroots consultative process are
the agencies of the training institute and the Area Teaching Committee,
together with the Auxiliary Board members, whose joint interactions provide
another space in which decisions pertaining to growth are taken, in this case
with a higher degree of formality. The workings of this cluster-level system,
born of exigencies, point to an important characteristic of Bahá’í
administration: Even as a living organism, it has coded within it the capacity
to accommodate higher and higher degrees of complexity, in terms of structures
and processes, relationships and activities, as it evolves under the guidance
of the Universal House of Justice. (UHJ, Ridvan 2010)
The emergence of an Area Teaching Committee
Parallel to the establishment of mechanisms to support the
institute process, other administrative structures are gradually taking shape.
Out of the occasional meetings of a few believers emerge the regular deliberations
of an expanding core group of friends concerned with channelling into the field
of service an increasing store of energy. As the process of growth continues to
gather momentum, such an arrangement ultimately fails to satisfy the demands of
planning and decision making, and an Area Teaching Committee is constituted,
and reflection meetings institutionalized. In the joint interactions of the
Committee, the institute and the Auxiliary Board members, a fully-fledged
scheme for the coordination of activities becomes operational—with all the
inherent capacity needed to facilitate the efficient flow of guidance, funds,
and information. By now, the process of growth in the cluster will conform to
the rhythm established by pronounced cycles of expansion and consolidation,
which, punctuated every three months by a meeting for reflection and planning,
are unfolding without interruption. (UHJ, 28 Dec. 2010)
The “the operation of the training institute and the
functioning of Area Teaching Committees” – future enhancements
It will be imperative that all Regional Councils pay close
attention to the operation of the training institute and the functioning of
Area Teaching Committees. With this in mind, they will find it necessary to
create and refine mechanisms that serve to further the pattern of growth
unfolding at the cluster level and the learning process associated with it.
These will include a well-functioning regional office that provides the
secretary with basic organizational support; a sound system of accounting that
accommodates divers channels for the flow of funds to and from clusters; an
efficient means of communication that takes into consideration the reality of
life in villages and neighbourhoods; and, where warranted, physical structures
that facilitate intensified and focused activity. (UHJ, 28 Dec. 2010)
Reminder: “moral rectitude”
Profound is the confusion that threatens the foundations of
society, and unwavering must be the resolve of all those involved in Bahá’í
activity, lest the slightest trace of self-interest becloud their judgement.
Let the coordinators of every training institute, the members of every Area
Teaching Committee, every Auxiliary Board member and every one of his or her
assistants, and all members of every local, regional and national Bahá’í body,
whether elected or appointed, appreciate the significance of the Guardian’s
plea to ponder in their hearts the implications of the moral rectitude which he
described with such clarity. May their actions serve as a reminder to a
beleaguered and weary humanity of its high destiny and its inherent nobility.
(UHJ, 28 Dec. 2010)
The educational process in a cluster “where the demands of
large-scale growth are asserting themselves” – training institute coordinators
In all such clusters, where the demands of large-scale
growth are asserting themselves, each stage of the educational process promoted
by the training institute must receive added support. The work of the
coordinator should be reinforced by assistance from a growing number of
experienced individuals, and meetings for the exchange of information and
insights become regular and more systematic in approach. So, too, must periodic
occasions be created for the three coordinators appointed by the institute-or,
where applicable, teams of coordinators concerned with study circles, junior
youth groups and children's classes respectively-to examine together the
strength of the educational process as a whole. And they, in turn, should meet
on a regular basis with the Area Teaching Committee. (UHJ, 12 Dec. 2011)
The role of the Regional Council and the “two complementary
perspectives from which the Councils will be able to view the pattern of action
in a cluster”
The Councils must ensure, too, the timely appearance and
dynamic functioning of Area Teaching Committees. The discharge of these duties,
carried out with the assistance of the Counsellors and their auxiliaries, will
serve to foster the participation of increasing numbers of the friends in a
rising number of programs of growth— and this, in turn, conduces to the sound
development of the individual, the community, and the institutions. Overall, a
Council would wish to be well informed about the conditions that prevail in
each cluster in the region. Further, as you will be aware from the 12 December
2011 message of the House of Justice to all National Spiritual Assemblies,
there are two complementary perspectives from which the Councils will be able
to view the pattern of action in a cluster: the “three-month cycles of activity
through which a community grows” and the emergence of “an educational process
with three distinct stages”. (On behalf of UHJ to NSA of USA, 9 August 2012)
ATC to “maintain the rhythm of three-month cycles of
activity”
…the efforts of Area Teaching Committees to maintain the
rhythm of three-month cycles of activity. (On behalf of UHJ to NSA of USA, 5
January 2015)
“[S]trong Area Teaching Committee” and “participation of
greater numbers of individuals in the activities of a cluster”
The participation of greater numbers of individuals in the
activities of a cluster requires a strong Area Teaching Committee. Regional
Councils should be assisted to learn systematically how these committees emerge
organically, as a program of growth intensifies, and contribute to the
advancement of a cluster, cycle after cycle. (On behalf of UHJ to NSA of USA, 5
January 2015)
The “principal focus of the Area Teaching Committee”
The mobilization of individuals to ensure steady progress of
the program of growth is the principal focus of the Area Teaching Committee. It
fosters the process of reflection and planning by organizing the reflection
meeting, facilitating a sound reading of the cluster’s reality, and arranging
for the accurate gathering and careful analysis of its statistics—all of which
expand vision, build unity of thought, and illuminate the path for the progress
of the cluster. (On behalf of UHJ to NSA of USA, 5 January 2015)
Complementary nature of work between ATC & CIC
Just as the training institute works closely to guide and
accompany the friends who initiate children’s classes, junior youth groups, and
study circles, the Area Teaching Committee can encourage and support many
individuals to carry out other acts of service, such as hosting devotional
gatherings, undertaking home visits, and teaching the Faith. These are not
merely activities to be multiplied but fundamental aspects of Bahá’í community
life intended for all. (On behalf of UHJ to NSA of USA, 5 January 2015)
Cluster-wide community-building activities
Devotional gatherings, for example, steadily multiply to
include all of the believers in a cluster as well as many of their associates.
The teaching work is broad in scope, encompassing personal eff orts as well as
collective projects, selected neighborhoods as well as sundry localities,
chosen populations as well as chance acquaintances, firesides as well as core
activities. In this manner, the participation of more and more believers in the
community-building activities of the Plan has profound implications at the
level of culture. Devotional gatherings, the embryo of the local
Mashriqu’l-Adhkár, kindle the stirrings of the spirit and ignite the flame of
service. Visiting one another’s homes weaves bonds of love and union. Teaching
becomes a way of life. (On behalf of UHJ to NSA of USA, 5 January 2015)
To “replicate the pattern of intensive action”
The House of Justice has every confidence in the ability of
your institution [US NSA] to reawaken this enthusiastic eagerness for service
throughout your community in order to raise expansion and consolidation to
unprecedented levels. It is evident that once you are able to learn to
replicate the pattern of intensive action within your most advanced clusters in
the hundreds of other clusters where a program of growth has been initiated, it
will be possible to engage tens, and eventually hundreds of thousands of
individuals in a vibrant, meaningful, and distinctive pattern of Bahá’í
community life, open to all. (On behalf of UHJ to NSA of USA, 5 January 2015)
The “principal focus” of Area Teaching Committee
Clearly, the institute process raises capacity for a broad
range of undertakings; from the earliest courses, participants are encouraged
to visit their friends at their homes and study a prayer together or share with
them a theme from the Bahá’í teachings. Arrangements for supporting the friends
in these endeavours, which may have been largely informal, eventually prove
inadequate, signalling the need for an Area Teaching Committee to appear. Its
principal focus is the mobilization of individuals, often through the formation
of teams, for the continued spread of the pattern of activity in a
cluster… With a Committee [ATC] in
place, the efforts already under way to convene gatherings for worship, to
carry out home visits, and to teach the Faith can now expand considerably.
(UHJ, 29 Dec. 2015)
How members of ATC should view everyone in the cluster
Its members come to see everyone as a potential collaborator
in a collective enterprise, and they appreciate their own part in nurturing a
spirit of common purpose in the community. (UHJ, 29 Dec. 2015)
A “new level of functioning" for ATC as “growth in the
cluster advances further”
Meanwhile, [“As growth in the cluster advances further”] the
Area Teaching Committee is rising to a new level of functioning. It is engaged
in a more thorough reading of circumstances in the whole cluster: on the one
hand, accurately assessing the capacities of the community and the effects
being produced by sustained growth, and on the other, understanding the
implications of various social realities for community building in the long term.
In the plans it makes each cycle, the Committee relies heavily on those
shouldering the greatest share of the work of expansion and consolidation, but
given that the number of those connected in some way with the pattern of
activity is now large, a variety of questions become more pressing: how to
mobilize the entire company of believers in support of teaching goals; how to
organize systematic home visits to the friends who would benefit from deepening
and discussions that connect them with the community; how to strengthen
spiritual bonds with the parents of children and junior youth; how to build on
the interest of those who have shown goodwill towards the Faith but have yet to
take part in its activities. Promoting the widespread holding of devotional
meetings is another concern, so that hundreds of people, eventually thousands,
are engaged in worship in the company of their households and their neighbours.
Ultimately, of course, the Committee looks to continually extend the reach of
the community’s endeavours so that more and more souls become acquainted with
the message of Bahá’u’lláh. In managing the complexities involved in its own
work—which includes gathering and analysing statistical data, as well as a
diversity of other tasks—the Committee draws on the help of individuals beyond
its own members. These complexities also require increasingly close
collaboration with Local Spiritual Assemblies. (UHJ, 29 Dec. 2015)
