Sara Kenny
Sara Kenny | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | March 20, 1900 |
| Died | September, 1968 London, England |
| NSA member | France 1958 - 1963 |
Sara M. Kenny (March 20, 1900 - September, 1968) was an American Bahá’í who pioneered to Europe to assist with the development of Bahá’í communities. She was named a Knight of Bahá’u’lláh for pioneering to Madeira.
Biography[edit]
Kenny was born in March, 1900. In her youth she studied at Stanford University where she completed a degree and was a member of the Phi Beta Phi and Phi Gamma Delta sororities. She married Robert W. Kenny while attending University who went on to serve as a Judge, was elected as a Senator for Los Angeles, served as Attorney General of California, and as a Superior Court Judge.[1]
In 1933 Kenny was rendered an invalid for several months and began investigating different religions,[1] discovered the Bahá’í Faith, and joined the religion after a short period of study as did her mother Ella Duffield.[2] She served the Bahá’í community of the United States in several capacities including serving on the National Teaching Committee, the Area Teaching Committee for the Western States, and the Local Spiritual Assemblies of San Francisco and Los Angeles.[2] She was often elected as one of California's delegates to the National Bahá’í Convention.[1]
Kenny found herself conflicted between her responsibilities as the wife of the Attorney General of California and her desire to serve the Faith and in March, 1944, she received the following advice in a letter written on behalf of Shoghi Effendi:
"He feels that as Mr. Kenny is evidently a man of marked capacity . . . you are fully justified in devoting more of your time to him, and letting other believers carry on the committee work you may not be able to do."[1]
When the Ten Year Crusade was launched in 1953 Kenny and her mother pioneered to the Madeira Islands and were named Knights of Bahá’u’lláh for opening the area to the Faith.[1] They experienced little success in their teaching work and were asked to move to France after nine months,[2] where they settled in Nice.[1] In 1957 Kenny went on pilgrimage and met with Shoghi Effendi.[1]
In 1958 Kenny was elected to the inaugural National Spiritual Assembly of France when the body was formed. She notably remained faithful to the Administration of the Faith when the majority of the National Assembly's members recognized Mason Remey's fraudulent claim to be the Guardian of the Bahá’í Faith in 1960 and was re-elected to the Assembly after it was dissolved then re-established.[1]
In 1963 Kenny returned to the United States from France.[2] She passed away in London while undertaking a trip across Europe with her husband in 1968,[3] and the Universal House of Justice conveyed the following message after her passing:
GRIEVED LEARN PASSING KNIGHT BAHAULLAH SARA KENNY DEDICATED SERVANT CAUSE NATIVE LAND STALWART PIONEER MADEIRA WHOSE DEVOTED LABOURS FRANCE MEMBERSHIP FIRST NATIONAL ASSEMBLY AND STAUNCH DEFENCE COVENANT CONTRIBUTED FIRM ESTABLISHMENT FOUNDATION THAT NATIONAL COMMUNITY STOP ASSURE FAMILY PRAYERS HOLY SHRINES PROGRESS HER SOUL ABHA KINGDOM STOP REQUESTING NATIONAL ASSEMBLY FRANCE HOLD BEFITTING MEMORIAL SERVICE.[4]
References[edit]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 The Bahá’í World, An International Record. (1976). Bahá’í World Centre. Haifa. Volume 15 (1968-1973), Pg(s) 442. View as PDF.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 Earl Redman, The Knights of Bahá’u’lláh, George Ronald Press: London, 2017, p 384
- ↑ The Bahá’í World, An International Record. (1976). Bahá’í World Centre. Haifa. Volume 15 (1968-1973), Pg(s) 441. View as PDF.
- ↑ The Bahá’í World, An International Record. (1976). Bahá’í World Centre. Haifa. Volume 15 (1968-1973), Pg(s) 442-443. View as PDF.
