Joseph Sheppherd
Joseph Sheppherd | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1949 |
| Died | April 9, 2015 |
Joseph Roy Sheppherd (1949 - April 9, 2015) was an American Bahá’í author who pioneered to South America and Africa. He was curator of the National Ethnographic and Archaeological Museum of Equatorial Guinea for a time.
Biography[edit]
He was born in California, but moved to Germany with his mother in the 1960's soon after they had found the Faith, and Joseph declared at the Opening of the House of Worship in Frankfurt. He pioneered to Panama at 21, teaching the Faith and helping to consolidate existing communities. He then pioneered to Colombia where he served on the National Teaching Committee and several Local Spiritual Assemblies.
In 1974 he returned to California for study and in 1976 he pioneered to Cameroon, both to teach the Faith and study the Ntumu culture. In 1982 he moved to England where he served at the National Center and performed graduate study at Cambridge University. While in England, he sculpted a bust of Hand of the Cause George Townshend.
In the 1990's he returned to the United States where he cooperated with the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs Oregon to perform underwater archaeology and study traditional canoe-making and also taught at Bahá’í Summer Schools including Bosch Bahá’í School. He moved to Trnava, Slovakia in 2007 and passed away there in 2015.
Writing[edit]
Joseph has written Bahá’í books for adults, such as A Wayfarer's Guide to Bringing the Sacred Home and Elements of the Bahá’í Faith, Bahá’í books for children, such as the Adventures of Goli and Kadjam books, Bahá’í plays for use as a Summer School resource in the Dramatic Presentations series, and the Mention of God series, a series of independent stories inspired by words in the Prayer Blessed is the Spot.
He has also written books related to his academic career such as The Woman who Fell to Earth, a book on his research of Slovak folktales and A Leaf of Honey, a book on his anthropological research in Cameroon.
Publications[edit]
- 1988 - A Leaf of Honey and the Proverbs of the Rainforest
- 1992 - The Elements of the Bahá’í Faith
- 1997 - The Island of the Same Name
- 2002 - A Wayfarer's Guide to Bringing the Sacred Home
- 2004 - Bringing the Sacred Home: A Baha'i Perspective on Self, Family, and Community
- 2012 - The Woman who Fell to Earth, written with Katka Nováková
- 2012 - Who Are You? (2500 Questions to Ask that Man Kneeling Before You with a Ring in His Hand), written with Janet Wilson-Sheppherd
- 2014 - The Basic Elements of the Bahá’í Faith, written with Janet Wilson-Sheppherd
- 2014 - Backbiting Bites Back: 1986 Conversations in Bahá’í Social Development
- 2014 - The Pryma Heritage, written with Henrieta Machalová
The Adventures of Goli and Kadjam[edit]
- 1986 - Mama Buzurg is Coming, written with Susan Reed
- 1987 - Guebe and the Toy Truck, written with Susan Reed
The Mention of God Books[edit]
- 1 - The Other Room, written with Janet Wilson-Sheppherd
- 2 - Dead Husbands Are No Fun
- 3 - The Dahditter
- 4 - The City of the Ex-Veteran
- 5 - Under Black Light
- 6 - The Mountain Runner
- 7 - Downstream Is the Future Passed By
- 8 - The Nether Realm
- 9 - A Shadowbox for Life
- 10 - The Wannabe Indian
- 11 - Providencia
- 12 - The Curser and the Seer
- 13 - When Heaven Falls From Earth
A Dramatic Presentation Plays[edit]
- 2012 - The Trial of the Báb
- 2012 - Quincentenary of Extinction
- 2012 - The Puppet Play of Shah Sultan Salim
- 2014 - Excellence
- 2014 - Prophets of Hindsight
References[edit]
- American Bahá’í Obituary: https://www.bahai.us/community/news/2016/march-april-2016/joseph-sheppherd-was-anthropologist-teacher-pioneer-prolific-author/
- Bahá’í Teachings Obituary: http://bahaiteachings.org/author/joseph-roy-sheppherd
- Authors Amazon page: https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=The+Island+of+the+Same+Name
