2011
‘You Are All One Family’
On the Wednesday following ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s arrival in London, Mrs. Thornburgh-Cropper gave an ‘At Home’ to the believers and between fifty and sixty were present to meet him. One of the friends, a Mrs. Drakonles, who founded The Humanitarian League over twenty years ago, brought with her a leaflet pertaining to the work of the League, which was handed to ‘Abdu’l-Baha. Upon learning that kindness was its purpose, he highly commended her, and made it the theme of his discourse. He then said:
‘You are all one family; you have grown out of one root. Each of you is like a branch, a flower, a fruit. You must look on no one as a stranger. You should try to show the greatest love to all men and to every creature. I have come to you as to my own people- brothers and sisters, sons and daughters. My bond is with all mankind; so should yours be. Try to follow the teachings of Bahá’u’lláh, then each one will shine like a star. Since the time of Adam there has been no other teaching; until the end of time there will be no other.’
(Arthur Cuthbert, Star of the West Vol. II No. 12, 1911)
Mary Virginia Thornburgh-Cropper
Again, Thank you Lorraine.
I found this on another site tracing His journey http://travelstothewest.org/
Mary Virginia Thornburgh-Cropper – known to her friends as Minnie – first heard of the Bahá’í Faith in 1898 when she was 41. She was an American living in London and had been married to an Englishman. Shortly after reading about the Báb in an encyclopedia, by coincidence, she was invited by her friend Phoebe Hearst to be part of the first group of Western Bahá’í pilgrims to visit ‘Abdu’l-Bahá in the Holy Land. She is considered to be the first person to become a Bahá’í in the UK and throughout her life was a very active member of the community. She was a member of the first elected National Spiritual Assembly of England (later Great Britain). She made her motor-car available to ‘Abdu’l-Bahá during His visits. She passed away on 17 March 1938.
Excellent additions Margaret! Thank you for your posts.
I am so grateful for the talented and dedicated souls who undertook this huge project. What a tremendous gift to us as we commemorate Abdu’l-Baha’s visit to the west. Let’s hear it for modern technology that has made it possible!