Honor Kempton

Honor Kempton
Born	September 30, 1892 Maidenhead, England
Declared	1935 San Francisco, USA
Died	February 24, 1981
NSA member	Italy & Switzerland 1954 - ???? Benelux Countries 1959 - 1960 Luxembourg 1962 - ????
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Honor Kempton (September 30, 1892 - February 24, 1981) was an English Bahá’í who helped establish the Bahá’í Faith in Alaska and Luxembourg as a pioneer.

Background

Kempton was born in Maidenhead, England, in 1892 and was raised as a member of the Anglican Church by her mother. During the First World War she volunteered with the Red Cross and through her service she met an American surgeon and moved to the United States with him after the war where they were engaged. She initially settled in Chicago however her fiancée was killed in a car accident before they could marry. She remained in America after his passing settling in Wilmette, Illinois.

Kempton first heard of the Bahá’í Faith in Wilmette. She moved to San Francisco in 1935 where she began attending firesides held in the home of Leroy Ioas and declared after a short time. She was elected to the Local Spiritual Assembly of San Francisco and actively taught the religion to others after declaring. In January 1939 Shoghi Effendi requested that the American Bahá’ís establish communities in all states which did not yet have one and Kempton volunteered to open Alaska to the religion.

In April 1939 Kempton arrived in Juneau, Alaska, where she was unable to find employment so she moved to Anchorage after two months where she opened a bookstore. She initially struggled to find people interested in the Faith however she was gradually joined by other pioneers and some locals declared resulting in the establishment of the Local Spiritual Assembly of Anchorage in 1943. She was elected as a delegate of the Assembly to the 1944 US National Convention making her the first Alaskan delegate.

In 1946 Kempton volunteered to pioneer to Europe and received approval from Shoghi Effendi. She undertook an extensive teaching tour of England and visited her family then moved to Luxembourg arriving in February, 1947, opening the country to the Faith. She remained in Luxembourg until January 1949 when she moved to Geneva, Switzerland, to serve as a representative of the European Teaching Committee at the International Bahá’í Bureau. In her role with the Bureau she helped organize European Teaching Conferences and the Intercontinental Teaching Conference held in Stockholm in 1953 to launch the Ten Year Crusade. She also facilitated communication between the Bureau and the World Centre in Haifa, and with pioneers, new Bahá’ís, and Local Spiritual Assemblies across Europe. At some point she was elected to the National Spiritual Assembly of Italy and Switzerland.

In 1957 the International Bahá’í Bureau was disbanded and Kempton pioneered to France where she spent time in several cities to help establish the Faith including Lille and Nancy. She then visited England and during her visit her mother declared at the age of ninety-nine. In 1959 she returned to Luxembourg after consulting with the National Spiritual Assembly of the United States and helped establish Bahá’í communities in Eschsur-Alzette and Ettelbruck. She served on the National Spiritual Assembly of the Benelux Countries after returning to Luxembourg, and in 1962 she was elected to the independent National Spiritual Assembly of Luxembourg when it was established representing the body at the First International Convention the following year.

In 1973 Kempton pioneered to Kopstal-Bridel with Suzette Hipp, who she had also lived with in Ettelbruck, where they helped establish a Local Spiritual Assembly. She served on the Kopstal-Bridel Assembly and several national Bahá’í communities into her later years. In 1976 she returned to Alaska on a visit during which she attended an International Teaching Conference and made a teaching trip to the indigenous community of Barrow. She passed away in 1981.