Amoz Gibson
Amoz Gibson | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | August 3, 1918 |
| Declared | 1944 |
| Died | May 18, 1982 |
| NSA member | United States 1960 - 1963 |
| ABM | Americas 1959 - 1963 |
| UHJ member | 1963 - 1982 |
| Signature |  |
Amoz Everett Gibson (August 3, 1918 - May 18, 1982[1]) was an American Bahá’í who served on the Universal House of Justice, the supreme governing body of the Bahá’í Faith, from 1963 to 1982.
Biography[edit]
Gibson was born into a Bahá’í family in Washington, D.C. in 1918. His mother, Deborah, had a grandfather who was a Creek Native American and his father, William, was half Irish and his mother was one quarter African American and had been a slave. His parents became Bahá’ís in 1912 after his father attended a fireside facilitated by Harlan Ober.[2]
Gibson attended Bahá’í children's classes and the Nineteen Day Feast however he did not reaffirm at the age of fifteen as there were not many organized Bahá’í activities. He attended public schools in Washington in his youth and he enrolled in the Miner Teachers College, now the University of Columbia, and completed an education degree majoring in social studies in 1940. He married Mary Elizabeth Lane in 1941 and around this time secured work at the Washington Navy Yard.[2]
In 1944 Gibson formally declared as a Bahá’í and that year he was drafted into the United States Army and served in Europe and the Pacific during the Second World War. In 1946 he completed his military service and returned to Washington, D.C., where he became an active member of the community and he was elected to the Local Spiritual Assembly.[2] He secured work as a teacher at Browne Junior High School.[3]
In the late 1940's Gibson pioneered to Mexico, supporting himself with funds from a government education program for veterans and renting his Washington home out. He studied at the Mexico City College and completed a Master's Degree in geography in 1951. He had made a commitment to continue teaching in Washington before moving to Mexico and returned to the city after graduating where he returned to his job at Browne Junior High School.[3]
In 1952 Gibson and his family pioneered to the Navajo Indian Reservation in New Mexico and the only work he could find was working at a car wash. After a short time he secured a position working on the Reservation through the U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs and he was able to settle in the town of Pinon, Arizona. Gibson and his wife were able to successfully teach the Faith in the area remaining in Pinon for four years.[3]
In 1959 Gibson was appointed as an Auxiliary Board member and in 1960 he was elected to the National Spiritual Assembly of the United States. As of 1961 he had also been appointed to the United States National Teaching Committee for Africa and that year he represented the U.S. National Assembly the the dedication of the Kampala Temple in Uganda. During this time he moved to Gallup, New Mexico, where he was appointed the principal of the Bread Springs Day School.[4]
In 1963 Gibson attended the First International Convention casting a vote in the inaugural election of the Universal House of Justice. He was making preparations to pioneer to Africa with his family prior to the Convention however he was elected to the Universal House of Justice and had to cancel his plans and move his family to Haifa instead. He arrived in the Holy Land in July, 1963, and began serving and he was appointed the convener of the Department of Holy Places.[4]
Gibson served as a member of the Universal House of Justice in Haifa for the rest of his life. He was able to travel abroad during holiday periods and he went on a travel teaching trip in 1976 during which he visited Holland, France, Italy, Mexico, and the United States. In 1978 he went on a tour of Iran visiting Tehran, Shiraz, Isfahan, Najafabad, Ardistán, Takur, Seri, Tabriz, and some other towns. He was able to visit Shaykh Tabarsí during this visit.[3]
In 1980 Gibson visited the United States again and during his visit he fell ill in San Francisco in August. After returning to Haifa he was diagnosed with leukemia and hospitalized. The disease went into remission in 1981 and he visited his children who were living across the world traveling to Oakland, Albuquerque, and Washington, D.C., in the United States and also to New Zealand. On his trip to New Zealand he visited the Bahá’í Temple in Sydney, Australia.[5]
In 1982 Gibson's illness returned and he passed away in Haifa in May, 1982. The Universal House of Justice conveyed the following message after his passing:
WITH SORROWFUL HEARTS LAMENT LOSS OUR DEARLY-LOVED BROTHER AMOZ GIBSON WHO PASSED AWAY AFTER PROLONGED HEROIC STRUGGLE FATAL ILLNESS. EXEMPLARY SELFSACRIFICING PROMOTER FAITH ACHIEVED BRILLIANT UNBLEMISHED RECORD CONSTANT SERVICE FOUNDED ON ROCKLIKE STAUNCHNESS AND DEEP INSATIABLE LOVE FOR TEACHING WORK PARTICULARLY AMONG INDIAN AND BLACK MINORITIES WESTERN HEMISPHERE AND INDIGENOUS PEOPLES AFRICA. HIS NOTABLE WORK ADMINISTRATIVE FIELDS NORTH AMERICA CROWNED FINAL NINETEEN YEARS INCACULALE CONTRIBUTION DEVELOPMENT WORLD CENTRE WORLD EMBRACING FAXTH. PRAYING SHRINES BOUNTIFUL REWARD HIS NOBLE SOUL THROUGHOUT PROGRESS ABHA KINGDOM. EXPRESS LOVING SYMPATHY VALIANT BELOVED WIDOW PARTNER HIS SERVICES AND BEREAVED CHILDREN. ADVISE HOLD BEFITTING MEMORIAL GATHERINGS EVERYWHERE BAHAI WORLD AND COMMEMORATIVE SERVICES ALL MASHRIQUL ADHKARS.[5]
Talks[edit]
- 1963 - The Blessed Beauty
- 1976 - Speech in Amherst, Massachusetts
- 1980 - Speech to Bahá’í Native Council
Notes[edit]
- ↑ "Amoz E. Gibson, leader of Bahai faith". The Ledger. 18 May 1982.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 The Bahá’í World, An International Record. (1986). Bahá’í World Centre. Haifa. Volume 18 (1979-1983), Pg(s) 666. View as PDF.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 The Bahá’í World, An International Record. (1986). Bahá’í World Centre. Haifa. Volume 18 (1979-1983), Pg(s) 667. View as PDF.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 The Bahá’í World, An International Record. (1986). Bahá’í World Centre. Haifa. Volume 18 (1979-1983), Pg(s) 668. View as PDF.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 The Bahá’í World, An International Record. (1986). Bahá’í World Centre. Haifa. Volume 18 (1979-1983), Pg(s) 669. View as PDF.
References[edit]
- "Members of the Universal House of Justice". Beliefnet. 2002-09-13. Retrieved 2008-08-17.
