The Corinne True Center convened its second annual conference on Bahá’í history, texts, and thought at Green Acre Bahá’í School from Friday, June 5, through noon on Sunday, June 7, 2026. The conference was intended to encourage, support, and disseminate emerging scholarship in Bahá’í history; Bahá’í theological and philosophical thought; the translation, interpretation, and study of authoritative Bahá’í texts; and Bahá’í approaches to the study of other religious traditions and scriptures. All conference sessions were held in Kelsey Hall, and the program was open to all interested participants. Some 70 people attended.
The program began on Friday, June 5, with an afternoon visit to the grave of Louis G. Gregory and his wife Louise, followed by a tour of Green Acre. After registration and dinner, Robert Stockman presented an overview of the conference and of the work of the Corinne True Center. The opening formal session featured Gisu Mohadjer and Amelia Cook, who presented “Hand of the Cause of God Louis G. Gregory—Learning from His Teaching Methods,” with Gwen Etter-Lewis serving as chair. It was noted that Louis Gregory’s birthday was June 6, hence a presentation about him after sunset on June 5 was a birthday celebration. The session was part of the Anniversary Series that the Corinne True Center had started, as it was the 75th Anniversary of the passing of the Hand of the Cause of God Louis G. Gregory.
On Saturday, June 6, the program opened with breakfast, devotions, and orientation, followed by a sequence of sessions addressing Bahá’í practice, sacred history, biography, and oral history. The morning session, “Aspects of Bahá’í Practice,” chaired by Robert Stockman, included Holly Hanson’s presentation on “Patterns of Bahá’í Collective Worship.” She spoke via Zoom from Haifa, Israel and compared the development of Bahá’í worship practices in the late second century of the Bahá’í era with the development of Christian and Islamic practices in a comparable time periods. She was followed by Douglas Henck’s presentation on “A Sacred Trust: The History of Institutional Stewardship of the Bahá’í Fund,” which explored the guidance of the Head of the Faith about the development of the Fund right up to the present day. A subsequent morning session, chaired by Omid Ghaemmaghami, featured Hamid Afnan Mahdavy and Elham Afnan Mahdavy on the historical, religious, and symbolic significance of the House of the Báb in Shiraz. The 90-minute presentation was illustrated by many pictures of the house.
The Saturday afternoon sessions turned to biography and oral history as fields of Bahá’í historical inquiry. In the session “Biography in Bahá’í History,” chaired by Angelita Reyes, Gity Banan Etemad presented on the eventful life of F. H. Banan, her father. James Russell spoke about Marzieh Gail and the possible influence her training as a Medievalist had on her Bahá’í scholarship.
The subsequent session, “Touching History: Theory and Practice in Oral History Interviews,” chaired by William Collins, included Angelita Reyes speaking about “Touching History: Spaces Between Theory and Oral History Practices on Video” and Gwen Etter-Lewis presenting on “Capturing a Moment of Historic Portent: Oral History as a Catalyst for Social Change.” The day concluded with Anne Perry’s evening program, “Bringing History Alive through the Arts,” chaired by Gisu Mohadjer.
On Sunday, June 7, the conference began with Session 7, “Aspects of Bahá’í History,” chaired by Mina Yazdani. Zack Heern spoke about “Muslim Clerics in the Writings of Bahá’u’lláh,” focusing primarily on the negative impact of clergy on the people’s acceptance of a new Manifestation. He was followed by Vafa Bayat, who spoke about “Abdu’l-Bahá’s Visit to Stanford.” He presented new information from the Stanford Archives and particularly from President David Star Jordan’s personal papers.
After a break, the conference’s last session, “Bahá’í Approaches to Other Religions,” was convened. It was chaired by Robert Stockman. William Collins spoke about “Evolving Bahá’í Understanding of Prophecy: Fulfillment Behind Us, Vision Ahead,” based on conclusions published in his book, Millennialism, Millerites, and Prophecy in Bahá’í Discourse. Finally, Joseph Weixelman presented “The Significance of Mexico’s Feathered Serpent: An Interpretation of the Quetzalcoatl Legend.” He discussed early Spanish-language sources about Quetzalcoatl that support the idea that he was a prophetic figure or possibly a Manifestation of God.
The conference formally closed at noon, followed by lunch. All presentations were livestreamed and all but one of them is currently available at YouTube.com/@corinnetruecenter (the audio was not recorded for one of them).
In its overall design, the conference brought together devotional practice, historical research, textual study, biography, oral history, interpretation of prophecy, the arts, and the Faiths’ relationship with Islam. Its location at Green Acre, a site of enduring significance in the history of the Bahá’í Faith in North America, further underscored the conference’s aim of making Bahá’í history accessible, intellectually rigorous, and relevant to scholarship, teaching, and community life.
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