Dear and valued co-workers:
The achievements of the German and Austrian Bahá’í communities, since the launching of the Ten-Year Global Crusade, embarked upon by the followers of the Faith of Bahá’u’lláh, mark a notable advancement in the progress and consolidation of the Faith in the heart of the European continent. The weighty and historic task so valiantly shouldered by both of these communities has been splendidly initiated, and must, as the Plan unfolds, be prosecuted with increasing vigilance, unswerving resolve, whole-hearted consecration, complete unity, and exemplary steadfastness.
The greatest, most pressing and sacred enterprise, challenging the spirit and resources of all the members of both of these communities—the purchase of the land, for the first Mashriqu’l-Adhkár of Europe and the prompt initiation of measures for its construction—demands, during this present phase of the Crusade, the utmost concentration of effort, and the most sublime sacrifice on the part of the German and Austrian believers—an effort and sacrifice in which their brethren, in both the East, and the West, will gladly participate, as a token of their appreciation of the historic significance of this mighty institution destined to be firmly established and radiate its beneficent influence in the very heart of that continent.
The purchase of the site must be expedited, the selection of a befitting design for so glorious an edifice must be made with as little delay as possible, and the preliminary steps for the excavation of the foundations must be undertaken with care, promptitude and determination.
The rise of this symbol and harbinger of the World Order of Bahá’u’lláh, as yet in the embryonic stage of its development, amidst the confusion, the anxieties, the rivalries and the recurrent crises that mark the decline of a moribund civilization, will, no doubt, lend a tremendous impetus to the onward march of the Faith in all the continents of the Globe, and will, more than any other single act, direct the attention of the spiritually impoverished, the economically afflicted, the socially disturbed, and the morally disoriented masses of a sorely tried continent to its nascent institutions.
Parallel with these measures, destined to contribute so effectively to the rise and establishment of the Administrative Order of the Faith in both Germany and Austria, a systematic effort must be exerted by the national elected representatives of the Bahá’í communities in these two countries to multiply, as speedily as possible, the assemblies, groups and isolated centres, through a wider dispersal on the part of the believers, and the launching of an intensive campaign of teaching designed to increase, swiftly and steadily the number of the active supporters of the Faith.
The pioneers who have so valiantly settled in the virgin areas assigned to the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of Germany and Austria, must, however great the sacrifice, safeguard the prizes so laboriously won, and strive, by every means in their power, to consolidate, through extensive teaching work, their splendid and unforgettable achievements.
While this double process of multiplication of Bahá’í centres, and development of the newly opened areas, is being assiduously carried out, a no less notable progress must be made in the consolidation of these two communities, through the initiation of local incorporations which will pave the way for the establishment of local Bahá’í endowments, and will serve to reinforce the foundations of all local Bahá’í communities.
The establishment of a national Hazíratu’l-Quds in the capital city of Austria, as well as of national endowments in that country—measures that will herald the formation of an independent National Spiritual Assembly, and the erection of yet another pillar of the Universal House of Justice, in the heart of the European continent—should be regarded as the paramount objectives of this second phase of the Ten-Year Crusade which we are now entering.
No less vital and urgent is the task of establishing, in the course of this second stage in the unfoldment of this world spiritual Crusade, of a Bahá’í Publishing Trust, similar, in its essentials, to the one already functioning in the British Isles, and of lending a fresh impetus to the translation, the publication and dissemination of Bahá’í literature in the German language—a task which will greatly accelerate the all-important teaching work, and enhance the prestige of the Faith, and promote the vital interests of its institutions.