Carl Scherer
Carl Scherer | |
|---|---|
 Carl (left) with his wife Loretta. | |
| Born | March 7, 1900 New Ulm, Minnesota, USA |
| Died | October 10, 1982 Burlington, Wisconsin, USA |
| NSA member | Portugal 1962 - 1963 |
| ABM | Asia 1954 - 1958 |
Carl A. Scherer (March 7, 1900 - October 10, 1982) was an American Bahá’í who pioneered to Macau for which he was named a Knight of Bahá’u’lláh and he served as an Auxiliary Board member for Asia.
Biography[edit]
Scherer was born in New Ulm, Minnesota, in 1900 as the third of four children of Robert W. Scherer and Ida Koch.[1] On September 25, 1925, he married Loretta L. Bremer and as he worked as a salesman the couple frequently traveled around America. In 1931 he secured a position with the Texas Oil Company based in China and he lived and worked in China from 1931 to 1936. After returning to the United States the Scherer's settled in Milwaukee near extended family. They were introduced to the Bahá’í Faith and declared in 1949.[2]
In 1953 Shoghi Effendi launched the Ten Year Crusade to establish the Bahá’í Faith across the entire world and the Scherer's volunteered to establish the Bahá’í Faith in Macau arriving in Macau in December 1953.[2] On May 1, 1954, Scherer was appointed as an inaugural Auxiliary Board member for Asia being assigned the responsibility for assisting Bahá’í communities across the entirety of South East Asia. In 1957 his jurisdiction as Board member was reduced to Japan, Korea, and the North Pacific.[3]
The Macau community steadily developed throughout the 1950's and in April, 1957, Scherer was granted an audience with the governor of Macau,[4] and in 1958 a Local Spiritual Assembly of Macau was formed with Scherer and his wife being elected as members.[5] In 1958 the Scherer's returned to the United States settling in Shorewood, Wisconsin.[2]
In 1959 the Scherer's pioneered to Portugal initially living in Lisbon then pioneering to Sintra where they helped establish a Local Spiritual Assembly and they also conducted teaching trips to other cities of Portugal such as Faro, Portimao, and Espina. Scherer had been elected to the National Spiritual Assembly of Portugal as of 1963 and he submitted a postal vote to the First International Convention to cast a vote for the first Universal House of Justice as he was unable to afford to travel to the Holy Land in person. He had fallen ill as of January 1963 and in April the Scherer's returned to Milwaukee from Portugal attending the First Bahá’í World Congress in London while traveling to America.[2]
In 1970 the Scherer's pioneered again to Funchal, Madeira. In March 1973 they briefly moved to Macau, making a pilgrimage to Haifa while traveling there,[2] and Scherer briefly served on the Local Spiritual Assembly of Macau that year.[6] They were unable to stay in Macau long-term due to financial difficulty and Loretta's health being poor and they returned to the United States in June, 1973, and pioneered to Burlington, Wisconsin.[2]
In October 1980 Loretta passed away in Burlington and Scherer passed away in October 1982 and was buried alongside her.[2] The Universal House of Justice conveyed the following message after his passing:
SADDENED LEARN PASSING DEVOTED SERVANT CARL SCHERER KNIGHT BAHAULLAH MACAO. OFFERING ARDENT PRAYERS HOLY SHRINES PROGRESS HIS SOUL KINGDOMS GOD.[1]
References[edit]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 The Bahá’í World, An International Record. (1986). Bahá’í World Centre. Haifa. Volume 18 (1979-1983), Pg(s) 738. View as PDF.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 The Bahá’í World, An International Record. (1986). Bahá’í World Centre. Haifa. Volume 18 (1979-1983), Pg(s) 739. View as PDF.
- ↑ Barbara Sims, Macau Bahá'í Community in the Early Years, p 19
- ↑ Barbara Sims, Macau Bahá'í Community in the Early Years, p 26
- ↑ Barbara Sims, Macau Bahá'í Community in the Early Years, p 31
- ↑ Barbara Sims, Macau Bahá'í Community in the Early Years, p 35
