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William Sears

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William Sears
BornWilliam Bernard Patrick Michael Terrance Sears
March 28, 1911
Duluth, Minnesota, USA
DiedMarch 25, 1992
Tucson, Arizona, USA
NSA memberSouth & West Africa
1956 - 1958
Hand of the CauseAfrica
1957 - 1960
1980 - 1984
Holy Land
1960 - 1963
Americas
1963 - 1980
1984 - 1992
Spouse(s)Kathleen Fox (1911 - 1938) m. 1933
Marguerite Reimer m. 1940
ChildrenWilliam Sears Jr, Michael Sears
ParentsWilliam Francis Cyril Sears and Ethel Wagner
Signature

William Sears (March 28, 1911 - March 25, 1992)[1] was an American Bahá’í who was a Hand of the Cause of God

He was an active Bahá’í teacher in America and wrote books about the religion and later pioneered to South Africa and assisted in establishing Bahá’í institutions on the continent serving as National Spiritual Assembly and Auxiliary Board member and in 1957 he was appointed as a Hand of the Cause by Shoghi Effendi.

He moved to the Holy Land in 1960 to serve as a Custodian of the Faith after Shoghi Effendi's passing and returned to America in 1963 where he helped instigate mass teaching and encouraged individual teaching efforts. He also traveled internationally to stimulate and encourage Bahá’í communities.

Biography[edit]

Early life and broadcasting career[edit]

Sears was born in Duluth, Minnesota, in 1911 into an Irish Catholic family. In his youth he enrolled in the University of Wisconsin in Madison but he left his degree due to a lack of finances during the Great Depression in the 1930's and and secured a job working at a small radio station in Wisconsin.[2] He married Kathleen Elma Fox in 1933 and they had two sons however she passed away in 1938.[3]

Sears was introduced to the Bahá’í Faith by Marguerite Reimer in the late 1930's and they married in 1940 with Sears declaring a short time after.[2] He continued pursuing his broadcasting career moving to Philadelphia to work for a CBS affiliated radio station and he got his own radio sports program called The Bill Sears Show which won an Emmy Award in 1951 and he also worked for the Universities of Pennsylvania and Villanova as an announcer for Philadelphia Eagles football games. He also made two appearances on the Ed Sullivan Show and acted on the television program In the Park which contributed to him becoming a well-known public figure throughout the 1940's.[4]

He also utilized his professional career to serve the Faith by producing a Bahá’í radio program called Meet Mr. Justice and was also an active member of the community.[2]

Pioneering in the Ten Year Crusade[edit]

In 1953 Sears retired from his professional responsibilities and pioneered to South Africa with Marguerite and his sons settling in Johannesburg. He suffered a heart attack shortly after arriving but recovered and secured a position in the radio industry starting a program on Springbok Radio. In April 1954 he went on pilgrimage and met Shoghi Effendi for the first time.[4]

William, Marguerite and Michael on board a ship sailing to South Africa, 1953.

Sears was elected to the Local Spiritual Assembly of Johannesburg, formed in 1954,[5] which assumed responsibility for coordinating teaching plans across the whole of Southern Africa and Músá Banání appointed him as an Auxiliary Board member for Africa in 1954. He was elected to the National Spiritual Assembly of South and West Africa in 1956 which had its seat in Johannesburg and in October 1957 Shoghi Effendi appointed him as a Hand of the Cause of God.[4]

In November 1957 Shoghi Effendi passed away and Sears traveled to the Holy Land to participate in the first Conclave of the Hands of the Cause at which the Hands consulted on the future of the community. He returned to Africa after the Conclave.[6] In 1958 he attended the Kampala Intercontinental Conference in Uganda then traveled across Africa visiting Basutoland, Egypt, Kenya, Mauritius, Mozambique, Northern Rhodesia, South Africa, Sudan, Swaziland, Tanzania, Uganda, and Zanzibar. He also attended the first National Convention of France and traveled across the country then visited Greece and Italy while in Europe. In November 1958 he temporarily served as a Custodian while one of the permanent Custodians was absent from the Holy Land.[7][8]

In 1960 Sears traveled extensively across Central America, the Greater Antilles, and South America.[9] He moved to the Holy Land late in the year as he was elected to serve as a Custodian of the Faith after the passing of Horace Holley.[10] In 1961 the Custodians announced that they had decided that Sears would devote his time to supporting the Faith in the Western Hemisphere rather than Africa and return to America after the Universal House of Justice was established in 1963.[11] In January 1963 he visited Australia to stimulate the Bahá’í community in pursuing the final goals of the Ten Year Crusade.[12]

Service as Hand of the Cause[edit]

In 1963 the Universal House of Justice was formed and Sears participated in the First International Convention in the Holy Land and then attended and spoke at the First Bahá’í World Congress in London, England. The Custodians were disbanded and turned over all their functions to the Universal House of Justice and Sears departed the Holy Land moving back to the United States.[7]

William and Paul Haney at U.S. National Office, 1965.

In 1965 Sears helped instigate a major mass teaching project in California which ran into 1966 and was highly successful. In 1967 he undertook a travel teaching trip through Europe and briefly returned to Africa to represent the Universal House of Justice at the formation of the National Spiritual Assembly of Cameroon.[13] From 1969 to 1970 he undertook a travel teaching trip across Iran and in 1970 he visited Africa again to represent the Universal House of Justice at a major conference in Mauritius, then visited Germany. In 1972 he visited Ireland to represent the Universal House of Justice at the formation of the countries National Spiritual Assembly.[13]

In 1980 Sears returned to South Africa to support the Bahá’ís of the continent following the murder of Enoch Olinga who had been the only Hand of the Cause serving in Africa.[14] In 1982 his book Cry from the Heart was published which recounted details of his travels in Iran and condemned the persecution of the Bahá’ís of the country following the 1979 Revolution and the Universal House of Justice commended the work recommending it as a tool to educate the wider community on the persecution.[15]

As of November 1984 Sears had returned to America and that month he instigated the Month of Firesides campaign which resulted in an increase in individual teaching across the United States.[16] In 1987 he toured Canada visiting all ten provinces of the country in a period corresponding with the Seventy-Fifth Anniversary of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá's visit to the country.[17] He began a teaching tour of the United States on behalf of the National Spiritual Assembly of the United States in October 1991 and he completed the majority of the tour before passing on March 25, 1992.[16]

The Universal House of Justice conveyed the following message after his passing:

OUR HEARTS DEEPLY SADDENED, BAHÁ’Í WORLD GREATLY DEPRIVED, BY PASSING HAND CAUSE GOD WILLIAM SEARS, VIBRANT, CONSECRATED, STOUT-HEARTED STANDARD-BEARER FAITH BAHÁ’U’LLÁH. HIS MORE THAN HALF CENTURY UNBROKEN SERVICE MARKED BY UNFLINCHING DEVOTION TO BELOVED GUARDIAN, INFECTIOUS ENTHUSIASM FOR TEACHING, GALVANIZING SENSE DRAMA, DISARMING HUMOR, SPECIAL LOVE FOR CHILDREN, UNFLAGGING DETERMINATION IN FACE DIFFICULTIES. HE WILL EVER BE REMEMBERED FOR DEDICATING FULL RANGE HIS CREATIVE AND ENERGETIC CAPACITIES AS WRITER, EDITOR, LECTURER, RADIO AND TELEVISION PROGRAM DIRECTOR, TO HIS VARIED SERVICES AS TRAVELING TEACHER TO NUMEROUS COUNTRIES, PARTICULARLY IN THE AMERICAS, AND AS PIONEER TO AFRICA WHERE HE WAS MEMBER OF AUXILIARY BOARD AND OF NATIONAL SPIRITUAL ASSEMBLY SOUTH AND WEST AFRICA WHEN IN 1957 HE WAS ELEVATED RANK HAND CAUSE. HE LATER SERVED AS MEMBER BODY HANDS HOLY LAND. HIS LOSS ACUTELY FELT IN NORTH AMERICA WHERE HE EXPENDED LAST MEASURE HIS EBBING STRENGTH PROMOTION TEACHING ACTIVITIES. DYNAMIC EFFECTS HIS WORK WILL ENDURE THROUGH HIS MANY BOOKS AND RECORDINGS. GENERATIONS TO COME WILL REJOICE IN RICH LEGACY LEFT THEM THROUGH HIS HISTORIC ACCOMPLISHMENTS. FERVENTLY PRAYING HOLY SHRINES PROGRESS HIS ILLUSTRIOUS SOUL ABHÁ KINGDOM.

ADVISE FRIENDS THROUGHOUT WORLD COMMEMORATE HIS PASSING. REQUEST BEFITTING MEMORIAL SERVICES IN HIS HONOR ALL HOUSES WORSHIP.[18]

Publications[edit]

Books[edit]

Albums[edit]

  • 1979 - Happy A'yyám-i-Há[31]

Talks[edit]

References[edit]

Bahai.media has a related page: Category:William Sears
Bahai.works has a related page: Author:William Sears
  1. ↑ Rabbani, R. (Ed.) (1992). The Ministry of the Custodians 1957-1963. Bahá’í World Centre. pp. p. xxiii. ISBN 085398350X. {{cite book}}: |pages= has extra text (help)
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 The Bahá’í World, An International Record. (1998). Bahá’í World Centre. Haifa. Volume 20 (1986-1992), Pg(s) 795. View as PDF.
  3. ↑ https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/149831850/kathleen-elma-sears
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 The Bahá’í World, An International Record. (1998). Bahá’í World Centre. Haifa. Volume 20 (1986-1992), Pg(s) 796. View as PDF.
  5. ↑ Baha'i News (1981). National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States. No 608, Pg(s) 11. View as PDF.
  6. ↑ Rabbani, Ruhiyyih (Ed.) (1992). The Ministry of the Custodians 1957-1963. Bahá’í World Centre. ISBN 0-85398-350-X., p 29-30
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 The Bahá’í World, An International Record. (1998). Bahá’í World Centre. Haifa. Volume 20 (1986-1992), Pg(s) 797. View as PDF.
  8. ↑ Rabbani, Ruhiyyih (Ed.) (1992). The Ministry of the Custodians 1957-1963. Bahá’í World Centre. ISBN 0-85398-350-X., p 99
  9. ↑ Rabbani, Ruhiyyih (Ed.) (1992). The Ministry of the Custodians 1957-1963. Bahá’í World Centre. ISBN 0-85398-350-X., p 219
  10. ↑ Rabbani, Ruhiyyih (Ed.) (1992). The Ministry of the Custodians 1957-1963. Bahá’í World Centre. ISBN 0-85398-350-X., p 12
  11. ↑ Rabbani, Ruhiyyih (Ed.) (1992). The Ministry of the Custodians 1957-1963. Bahá’í World Centre. ISBN 0-85398-350-X., p 320
  12. ↑ https://bahai-library.com/washington_recollections_hands_cause&chapter=9
  13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 The Bahá’í World, An International Record. (1998). Bahá’í World Centre. Haifa. Volume 20 (1986-1992), Pg(s) 798. View as PDF.
  14. ↑ 4 March 1981 message from the Universal House of Justice to all National Spiritual Assemblies
  15. ↑ 21 January 1982 message from the Universal House of Justice to all National Spiritual Assemblies
  16. ↑ 16.0 16.1 The Bahá’í World, An International Record. (1998). Bahá’í World Centre. Haifa. Volume 20 (1986-1992), Pg(s) 800. View as PDF.
  17. ↑ The Bahá’í World, An International Record. (1998). Bahá’í World Centre. Haifa. Volume 20 (1986-1992), Pg(s) 75. View as PDF.
  18. ↑ https://bahai.works/MUHJ86-01/126/Passing_of_the_Hand_of_the_Cause_of_God_William_Sears
  19. ↑ God Loves Laughter, Goodreads page
  20. ↑ Release the Sun at Baha'i Library Online
  21. ↑ [https://bahai-library.com/pdf/s/sears_thief_night.pdf Thief in the Night at Baha'i Online Library (pdf link)
  22. ↑ The Flame, Goodreads page
  23. ↑ The Wine of Astonishment, Goodreads page
  24. ↑ A Cry from the Heart, Goodreads page
  25. ↑ Prince of Peace, Baha'i books page
  26. ↑ All Flags Flying, Goodreads page
  27. ↑ Run to Glory, Goodreads page
  28. ↑ https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/8329648-tokoloshe
  29. ↑ In Grandfather's Barn, Baha'i Books page
  30. ↑ The Half-inch Prophecy, Google Books page
  31. ↑ https://www.discogs.com/William-SearsAyy%C3%A1m-i-H%C3%A1-Kids-Happy-Ayy%C3%A1m-i-H%C3%A1/release/6784012

External Links[edit]

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