Watching Growth…

In working through the roughly chronological collection of references to the Faith in Iowa media, sent to me months ago by Steven Kolins, I’ve noticed an interesting shift. The earliest pieces, from 1850 until about 1950, strike me as often surprising references to something largely seen as exotic and foreign, shared as general interest items or even curiosities. By the late ’40s and into the ’50s, they increasingly cover activities related to establishing and developing local communities throughout the state–who’s giving public talks in their own cities or as traveling teachers, how local Bahá’ís are celebrating special events, etc. It’s fascinating to view, from this perspective, the Faith taking root in Iowa and realizing that all of this was happening near the beginning of my lifetime. Yá Bahá’u’l-Abhá!