He was a member of the National Spiritual Assembly of Canada from 1960 to 1985 and served the last twenty years as the general secretary. In 1985. He was appointed director-general of the Bahá'í International Community's Office of Public Information at the World Centre. He served in that capacity until 1993 when he was elected to the Universal House of Justice. He retired from the House of Justice in 2005 due to considerations of age and related needs of the Faith. [BWNS1455]

Those elected to the National Spiritual Assembly were: Douglas Martin (Secretary), Ronald Parsons; Michael Rochester (Vice-chairman), Suheil Bushrui, Rowland Estall, Donald Glen (Treasurer), Lloyd Gardner; Jameson Bond (Chairman), and, Angus Cowan. [CBN No 208 June 1967 p8]

The delegates too the National Convention were asked to elect a replacement for Lloyd Gardiner who was appointed to the newly-created North American Board of Councillors which made him ineligible for membership on national or local administrative bodies. Ballots were sent out to all delegates, but their return was delayed by a mail strike. When the count was finally taken the result was a tied vote and the delegates were required vote again, making their choice between the two people who received the equal number of votes. The deadline for the return of this second balloting was delayed in order to allow time for those attending the Oceanic Conference in Palermo to return to their homes. The deadline was set for September 17th. Mr. Ed Muttart of Fort Qu’Appelle was selected. [CBN No 223 Sep/Oct 196 p9].

Seven speakers presented papers in a wide range of academic disciplines. The speakers were:
'Abdu'l Misagh Ghadirian-"August Forel: His Life and Enlightenment".
Douglas Martin-"The Bahá'í Faith and Its Critics".
Luc Dion, a student of Physics at the Université du Québec in Chicoutimi-"La realité du monde e l'existence de Dieu". He had the distinction of being the first Bahá'í student to present a formal paper and also presented the first paper in French.
Hossain Danesh-"Violence and Apathy".
William Hatcher-on the relationship between science and religion.
Don Rogers-"The Function of Revelation in Artistic Expression".
Glen Eyford-"Spiritual Education".

A decision was taken to begin the publication of Bahá'í Studies.

In addition, the “Ballet Shayda” presented a group of three dances on Saturday evening. [BC Issue 291 February 1976 p6]

Three original papers this year were presented by Dr. William Hatcher, Mr. Douglas Martin and Dr. John Hatcher. Two students, Heida Lakshman and John Taylor also presented papers.

The Ottawa company, based in Ottawa, Le Ballet Shayda presented their original piece entitled Journey. [BC Issue 300 February 1977 p6]

A group of lectures were given on the life and work of Hand of the Cause Mr. Hasan Balyuzi. Dr. Abbas Afnan and Dr. Muhammed Afnan, both of whom are relations of Mr. Balyuzi and belong to the family of the Blessed Bab, talked about Mr. Balyuzi’s illustrious lineage. Hand of the Cause of God, Mr. John Robarts provided an appreciation of Mr. Balyuzi’s service as a member of the Institution of the Hands of the Cause. Mr. Douglas Martin gave the final talk of the lectureship session reviewing the immense work of Mr. Balyuzi as an historian. The Association has established a continuing lectureship in Bahá'í history, in Mr. Balyuzi’s honour.

Another new feature of the annual conference was the presentation of awards for the three best essays and research on Bahá'í studies. Catherine Nelson-McDermott of British Columbia was the recipient of an award for the best essay in the high school category for her paper, “Tahirih”. Alanna Robertson of Prince Edward Island was chosen in the univer- sity category for her essay entitled; “Music: Its Influence on the Spirit”. Robert Stockman of Rhode Island received the award for the best research in the individual category for his work, “‘A History of the Rhode Island Baha’i Community”. Each winner was the guest of the Association, presented his/ her paper during the conference, and received a commemo- rative plaque.

The presentations on the theme of history were very well received. Dr. Alan Ward’s talk, “‘Abdu’1l-Bahá and the American Press”, set the tone of the conference, with ease, humour and clarity. Gol Aidun recounted the relationship of Manakji Limji Hataria, an historical figure in the Zoroastrian community, with the Bahá'í Faith. Stephen Whitney’s paper entitled “The Second Century”, reviewed the condition of the major religions in their second century of existence and compared their history to the second century of the Bahá'í Faith. A major presentation by Dr. Jean-René Milot of the University of Montreal entitled “L’Origine de la foi baha’i sur l’arriére plan shi’ie”, was given. This talk by an invited guest speaker enabled the friends to witness the accuracy and fairness with which truly informed non-Baha’i scholars could view the Bahá'í Faith.

The panel presentation on ‘‘Baha’i Scholarship” was inaugurated this year and was very successful. A special addition was a presentation by Mr. Richard St. Barbe Baker en- titled ‘‘The Founding of the Men of the Trees”.

News of the decision to proceed at once with the planned purchase of a building to house the offices of the Association and gradually expand into a Centre for Baha’i Studies gave a final note of excitement and confirmation to the year’s proceedings. [BCVol 2 No 12 September/October 1980 p29]

This year, with the approval of the Universal House of Justice, the name of the Association was changed from the Canadian Association for Studies on the Bahá’í Faith to the Association for Bahá’í Studies in recognition of its increasingly international character. Also, the Association recently purchased a modest house on the campus of the University of Ottawa to serve as a Center for Bahá’í Studies and as an administrative headquarters for the organization.

The presentations included: “The Psychological and Spiritual Aspects of Personal Growth,” by Hossain Danesh, a member of the National Spiritual Assembly of Canada who is a practicing psychiatrist; a discussion of the use of computers in indexing the Bahá’í Writings, presented by Edward Fox, a doctoral candidate in computer science at Cornell University; “John the Baptist—The Forgotten Manifestation,” by Jack McLean, a doctoral candidate in religious studies at the University of Ottawa; and a presentation on the life and works of Mishkín-Qalam, the famous Bahá’í calligrapher, by Gol Aidun of Brandon, Manitoba.

Also included in the conference was the second annual Ḥasan Balyúzi Lectureship—given this year by Douglas Martin, secretary of the National Spiritual Assembly of Canada, who spoke on the persecutions of the Bahá’ís in Iran under the Pahlavi regime, and by Glenford E. Mitchell, secretary of the National Spiritual Assembly of the United States, who discussed the reaction of people in the West to the current wave of persecutions in Iran.

The last presentation of the conference was that of Amatu’l-Bahá Rúḥíyyih Khánum who had recently arrived in North America after several months in Central America. Although not entirely recovered from an illness acquired during her travels, she spoke vigorously—although, uncharacteristically, while seated. Her principal theme was the corrosive effects of the prejudice of the educated toward the illiterate, though she stressed the importance of the contribution of the educated in the Faith and in society.

She also urged the Bahá’ís to redouble their efforts, citing a passage pointed out to her by the beloved Guardian, Shoghi Effendi, in which Bahá’u’lláh, while still in Baghdád, had said that if the Bahá’ís had busied themselves with what He had commanded them to do, “now the entire world would be clothed in faith.” [BN Issue 607 October 1981 p7; BCVol 3 No 5 July/August 1981 p5]

In addition to the open style of the agenda and the Thursday supper, another new feature of the Convention was Friday’s lunch at which everyone had a chance to discuss particular issues at differently designated tables. The closed nature of the Convention permitted the delegates, along with the Hands of the Cause, Counsellor, Board Members, and National Assembly members to get together for talks and discussions over meals and at breaks without getting caught up in the always festive, often overwhelming atmosphere of recent National Conventions which have seen upwards of one thousand participants.

Elected to the National Spiritual Assembly were; Glen Eyford, Douglas Martin, Elizabeth Rochester, Michael Rochester, Edmund Muttart, Husayn Banani, Ruth Eyford, Jane Faily, and Hossain Danesh. [CBN Vol14 No 3 July/Aug 1982 p22]

Those elected to serve on the National Spiritual Assembly were: Douglas Martin (sec'y), Hossain Danesh [chair), Jane Faily, Ed Muttart (treasurer and ass't sec'y), Ruth Eyford, Michael Rochester (vice), Glen Eyford, Husayn Banani, and William Hatcher. [CBN Vol5 Issue3 July/Aug 1983 p23; CBN Vol5 Issue 2 May/Jun 1983 p20]

The first plenary session of the conference focussed on the theme “New Dimensions in Development”, and comprised of three presentations: Dr. Glen Eyford, Professor of International Development, spoke on "Strategies-for Social Change", Dr. Joanna Macy, “A Spiritual Approach to Social Change” and Gustavo Correa's presentation was "FUNDAEC: Case Study of an Alternative for Rural Development".

The second session: “Integrating Personal and Social Change —The Baha’i Paradigm” hosted the following speakers: Dr. Ervin Laszlo, “The Coming Transformation of Global Society and Today’s Action Imperative”, Shelia Banani, “Unity: The Ultimate Paradigm Shift” and Dr. Hossain Danesh, “Integrating Personal and Social Change”.

Hand of the Cause of God, Mr. Khadem, presented the awards to the winners of the best papers: John and Helen Danesh, High School Category; Shirin Sabri, General Category; Susan Stiles, University Category.

The theme for the third session was: “Elimination of Violence as a Prerequisite for World Peace”. Dr. Udo Schaefer, spoke on “Justitia Fundamentum Regnorum: On the Future of Penal Law”, followed by Mr. Brad Pokorny who spoke on “Disarmament and the Baha’i Faith”.

The advances made by the Association during the year were highlighted; the establishment of branches of the Association for Bahá'í Studies in India, Colombia, Ireland, Austria and Switzerland and the finalization of plans for opening chapters of the Association at universities to take the place gradually of the existing Bahá'í Clubs. A proposed draft of the constitution for the campus charters has been prepared and is now under review by the World Centre. [CBN Vol 5 No 6 November/December 1983 p14]

Outlines the history, teachings, structure and community life of the international Baha'i community, in an updated edition that includes coverage of the Baha'i Faith's views about world peace and the equal roles of women.

He was a member of the National Spiritual Assembly of Canada from 1960 to 1985 and served the last twenty years as the general secretary. In 1985. He was appointed director-general of the Bahá'í International Community's Office of Public Information at the World Centre. He served in that capacity until 1993 when he was elected to the Universal House of Justice. He retired from the House of Justice in 2005 due to considerations of age and related needs of the Faith. [BWNS1455]