Rebequa Murphy
Rebequa Murphy | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | July 24, 1953 Addis Ababa, Ethiopia |
| Died | November 25, 2008 New York, USA |
| NSA member | Alaska 1976 - 1980 1982 - 1987 |
| Counsellor | Americas 2000 - 2008 |
Rebequa 'Becky' Murphy (July 24, 1953 - November 25, 2008) was an Ethiopian-American Bahá’í who served as a Continental Counselor for the Americas.
Biography[edit]
Murphy was born Rebequa Getahoun in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, in 1953.[1] Her father, Getahoun Tessemma, was an ambassador of Ethiopia and the family traveled in her youth on diplomatic assignments which allowed her to meet Nikita Khrushchev of the Soviet Union in 1959. Her father was not a Bahá’í but was a friend of Abu’l-Qásim Faizí and Alí Nakhjavání as he attended the University of Beirut with them in his youth.[2]
In 1969 Murphy helped establish an orphanage in Ethiopia.[1] At the opening of the 1970's she moved to Alaska to attend university and she became friends with some Bahá’ís and declared in 1971.[2] After declaring Murphy volunteered to be part of a travel teaching team which toured Alaska and Canada and due to their success the team was invited to tour Europe. She traveled to Europe through Africa with another member of the teaching team, Robin Murphy, and during the journey they visited Ethiopia where she secured the permission of her parents to marry him and they went on to have three sons.[1]
She returned to Alaska after marrying and in 1976 she was elected to the National Spiritual Assembly serving until 1980 when her family pioneered to Nigeria for a year. After returning to Alaska she and her husband were appointed caretakers of an Institute building and she was re-elected to the National Spiritual Assembly.[1]
In the 1980's Murphy completed a Master's Degree in International Development at the University of Oregon and after completing her studies she began representing the Bahá’í International Community at United Nations events and was appointed the Deputy Director of the Office of the Environment. In her professional career she joined the executive consulting firm Idea Connections in 1996.[1]
Murphy moved from Alaska to the mainland United States at some point and was elected to the Regional Bahá’í Council for the Northeastern States after it was established in 1997.[1] In 2000 the Universal House of Justice appointed Murphy as a Continental Counselor for a five year term and she traveled extensively to serve in the role. She was appointed for a second term in 2005 but passed away in New York after suffering a heart attack in 2008.[2]
Talks[edit]
- ???? - The Mission of a Generation
