Letter from the National Spiritual Assembly regarding properties – 18 January 2022

18 January 2022 / 1 Sovereignty 178

To the Bahá’í community of Canada

Dear Bahá’í Friends,

The Nine Year Plan beckons, its scope and features outlined in a series of thrilling recent messages from the Universal House of Justice. Three brief months remain in the One Year Plan, the first year and first Plan in a series of global Plans that will “carry the ark of the Cause into the third century of the Bahá’í Era and conclude at Ridván 2046.”[i] A precious privilege has been accorded this generation to lay the final foundations for what is to come. We are writing to share news of one long awaited victory that has been won and on which we can now build.

In April 2016, the Universal House of Justice wrote to our Assembly to underline the pressing need for properties that would include dormitory space for institute camps and campaigns that serve clusters where institute activities had increased significantly, namely Canada’s two learning sites, Toronto and Vancouver. Not surprisingly, the search that began in these two clusters was slowed by rising real estate prices and the unavailability of suitable properties with the requisite conditions. Nonetheless, the need highlighted by the House of Justice became even clearer over time, and the first property of this kind, the Vancouver Bahá’í Centre of Learning, was acquired in March 2018 through the generosity of the Vancouver Bahá’í community, and provides, in addition to administrative space, capacity for both daylong and overnight institute camps and other events.

After a visit in 2019 to Sydney, Australia by teams from Toronto and Vancouver who witnessed what is possible with access to this kind of space and the dedicated service of youth and other friends, the search for a similar space for the Toronto cluster intensified. In May 2020, we acquired the Bethany Bahá’í Centre of Learning, which is a 12-acre property about an hour outside of Toronto and sleeps 120. At the same time, the Ottawa cluster had also begun to rapidly grow in multiple neighbourhoods, its pace of growth outstripping all expectations. In Canada’s three most advanced clusters, a clear vision emerged of at least 1,000 core activities that embrace the populations in several centres of intense activity. The conditions of the pandemic offered both challenge and opportunity, and these communities continued to grow.

With great joy, the National Spiritual Assembly announces the recent acquisition of a 60-acre educational facility located approximately 80 kilometres outside of Ottawa to meet the educational needs of that cluster. The array of properties that serve the three clusters of Ottawa, Toronto and Vancouver, as well as their surrounding regions, thus expands substantially. They include this 60-acre riverfront property and the buildings that served as a camp previously known as the Providence Point camp, with accommodations for 125 as well as campsites. Another is the property next to the Bahá’í National Centre in Markham, that had been leased out to a tennis camp for over ten years and now returns to us for our use. This facility has a day-use capacity of over 150.

Beyond this, however, 11 properties have been acquired since 2017, primarily through rental, to serve growing neighbourhood needs in nine clusters. In addition to these neighbourhood centres, a number of pioneer homes now serve a range of needs, including informal spaces for activities and a base for youth offering a period of service. A slide show highlighting these exciting developments can be accessed here: https://bnc-media-pub.s3.ca-central-1.amazonaws.com/general/New_Properties_20220118.pdf.

The Community Properties Fund, established in 2017, serves as a reservoir for this critical area of activity. An initial infusion of $2.5 million from the National Assembly has grown through the generous contributions of friends and Assemblies across the country, including a number of bequests. Thus, a total principal of $5 million is now generating an annual investment income that has allowed the National Assembly to act with confidence. As we survey the horizons of the next Plan, we see that access to dedicated space will be a determining factor to support growth in community after community. Where neighbourhood centres have been leased and sufficient experience has been gained in their upkeep and use, the next step is to consider the purchase of a property, rather than continuing to pay monthly rent. In more than 150 neighbourhoods across the country, existing and new centres of intense activity will need space over the next few years.

Thus, the National Assembly places before you a goal worthy of Canada’s generous response to the material needs of the Cause thus far. By the mid-point of the Nine Year Plan in 2026, a total principal of $10 million will be needed to generate the annual revenue required to finance a range of property needs. This special goal must be met without diminishing in the slightest the community’s support to other funds of the Faith, calling for creativity and sacrifice, two qualities that shine bright in the Canadian community. In the final paragraphs of the 30 December 2021 message, the House of Justice states that the “present-day capacity of the Bahá’í community, combined with the discipline it has achieved through adherence to a coherent framework for action, has prepared it for an extensive, rigorous test of all its resources, spiritual as well as material.” With gratitude, anticipation and love, we offer prayers for each of you.

With loving Bahá’í greetings,
NATIONAL SPIRITUAL ASSEMBLY
OF THE BAHÁ’ÍS OF CANADA

Karen McKye, Secretary

[i] From a message dated 30 December 2021 written by the Universal House of Justice to the Conference of the Continental Boards of Counsellors.