Recollections of the Hands of the Cause of God Clara Dunn and Henry Hyde Dunn
In this presentation issued by the Wilmette Institute, Mariette Leong traces the early life of Clara Dunn, how she met Henry Hyde Dunn and learned of the Bahá’í Faith from him. When the Tablets of the Divine Plan were presented in New York in 1919 they decided to arise as pioneers to Australia with the blessing of the Beloved Master. They arrived in Sydney Australia on 10 April 1920 with hardly a penny to their name, persevered in their determined efforts to share the Bahá’í teachings with the people of the country and succeeded in its establishment in the early years. They are today affectionately remembered as Father and Mother Dunn, the spiritual conquerors of a continent, and they are the only Hands of the Cause of God, husband and wife, buried side by side. The 100th year anniversary of their arrival in Australia is coming up in year 2020, a time of celebration and loving remembrance of two wonderful souls who sacrificed their lives in the promotion of the Faith of Bahá’u’lláh in a distant land, and the rich legacy they left behind! Mariette will recount the lives of Father and Mother Dunn and share stories of Mother Dunn when she was growing up in Adelaide, South Australia and the lasting impressions Mother has made on her life to this day.
About the Wilmette Institute
The Wilmette Institute was founded in 1995 to provide basic and advanced courses on the Bahá’í Faith. Its first four-year program, Spiritual Foundations for a Global Civilization, provided a comprehensive study of the Bahá’í Faith through on-site summer residential sessions supplemented by several months of in-depth online study.
In 1998, the Wilmette Institute moved to a largely online study approach in order to provide educational classes to a broader student body. It now offers more than 50 unique courses on the web to an average of 30 students per course. Some 7,000 students residing in almost 100 countries have participated in Wilmette courses.
Many students have made important contributions to the Bahá’í community, serving as teachers, enriching their participation in the core activities, participating more actively in social action and public discourse, sharing what they have learned informally with family and friends, taking more active roles in community development. Some have been inspired to continue their formal education at the undergraduate and graduate levels. We invite you to join our online community!
