Urging Americans to Bridge Differences
by Sandi Bean, Bahai’ *
The National Spiritual Assembly of the Baha'is of the United States on July 4, 2026, published a letter "to all who hold the promise of America in their hearts." The letter calls on all of us in this country to engage in thoughtful conversations. Baha'is are eager, the message says, “to contribute, alongside others, to the stirrings of spiritual renewal in the life of this nation." Its title is "A Common Endeavor," and it is aspirational. The launch of this document took place in several public forums convened by the U.S. Baha'i Office of Public Affairs held at the National Baha'i Center near Chicago; on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C.; and at the Baha’i International Community offices near United Nations headquarters in New York City.
At the news conference on Capitol Hill, Congressman Brendan Boyle of Pennsylvania noted the Baha'i teaching that all people are as "the fruits of one tree and the leaves of one branch." He continued, "No matter our political party, our ethnicity, our background, our faith, we are brought together, bound together by our shared humanity and our shared purpose as Americans.”
Elsewhere and earlier on Capitol Hill, a panel discussion on social trust took place. Co-sponsor Sen. Ron Wyden of Oregon likened the letter's spirit to the "Oregon Way." He said: "the patient habit of bringing people together across distance and disagreement.”
The authorship of the letter (which is available in full at https:// www.acommonendeavor.org/) is important.
The NSA of the Baha'is of the United States is an elected council of nine, chosen annually by democratically elected delegates from across the continental U.S. This process takes place simultaneously in more than 180 countries around the world — from Kenya to Senegal to Chile, to France, Norway and Vanuatu, among others.
Baha'i leadership is unique — leadership is institutional, not individual, and those eligible for election comprise all adult Baha'is in a given town, city, locality or nation. No campaigning or electioneering is permitted; voting is secret and considered sacred. Each Baha'i prays, and then each selects as leaders only "those (nine) whom prayer and reflection have inspired (the elector) to uphold," those who are "faithful, sincere, experienced, capable and competent.” Those nine men and women elected then serve and guide the affairs of the community. No single person has authority. Even the international governing council, another body of nine people, is elected by secret ballot by the more than 1600 elected members of all national Baha'i assemblies worldwide. These NSA members serve as delegates to an international convention held every five years in the Holy Land.
The NSA of the Baha'is of the United States — elected by delegates from 171 areas, or "units," delegates who were selected by secret ballot to serve as electors of the national council — has its seat at the national Baha'i Center near Chicago and the site of the Baha'i House of Worship for North America. This body of nine people addresses the U.S. Baha'i community through letters, emails and occasional visits; in addition, it often addresses the wider American community. For example, the Baha'i NSA wrote to the U.S. population in June 2020 following the deaths of Ahmaud Arbery, George Floyd and Breonna Taylor. That message, "Forging a Path to Racial Justice," named racism as America's most challenging issue. "A Common Endeavor" calls on all Americans to return to our founding spiritual principles — freedom, equality and justice — and to devise solutions together.
*Sandra J. Bean has been a Bahá'í since 1970 and serves as the secretary of the Spiritual assembly of the Bahá'ís of Corvallis. She served in the Office of Public Information at the Bahá'í World Centre in Haifa, Israel, in the 1980s. She and husband, Roger Blaine, live in Corvallis.
