An exemplary servant of the Cause, by her many VIRTUES

(Adapted from an article in The American Bahá'í, 3 August 2007)

Javidukht Khadem embodied the Bahá'í spirit of teaching, encouragement and wisdom throughout her long life. She passed away July 1, 2007, in Highland Park, Illinois, at 94 years of age.

She [supported] the work of the Hand of the Cause Zikrullah Khadem during their 53-year marriage...Married in 1933, the couple oversaw a household that was always a "nucleus of peace, love, and harmony," their daughter Jena Khadem Khodadad wrote... "There was never any question about which was more important, the Bahá'í Faith or her family. The dilemma did not exist, as the two were integral."

Foundation for service

A 1953 visit to the United States...provided Javidukht with her first major experience teaching the Faith in North America... "I learned," Javidukht wrote, "that the key to accomplishing any goal is taking the first step and relying on God's assistance."

Hospitality was priority

The first order of business, wrote their daughter May Khadem Czerniejewski, was finding a home with enough space for hospitable gatherings of 50 or more people. Quite often that was the scale of the firesides Javidukht hosted regularly over the four decades to follow...until she was nearly 90 years old. Dozens of guests were welcomed into an immaculately decorated home with sumptuous food, a well-chosen speaker and often music. "Hundreds of believers over those decades were welcomed to the Cause through her energetic, devoted perseverance," says a statement from her family.

The following is the message from The Universal House of Justice on the occasion of Javidukht Khadem's passing (in abbreviated telegram-form):
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Transmitted by email
TO: The National Spiritual Assembly of DATE: 2 July 2007
the Bahá’ís of the United States
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MESSAGE:
We deeply sympathize in the great loss to your community of dearly loved Javidukht Khadem. This stalwart, ever-buoyant handmaiden of Bahá’u’lláh, so gifted with a winning personality and a generosity of spirit, drew on an irrepressible energy that sustained her manifold efforts in service to the Cause of God—as mother of five children, as Auxiliary Board member for thirty-six years, as author of a biography of her esteemed husband—but especially that charged her indomitable passion for teaching, which extended through some four decades of regular firesides in her home. Kindly convey our heartfelt condolences to the members of her dear family, and be assured of our ardent prayers in the Holy Shrines that her soul may attain to ineffable joy in the Abhá Kingdom.

The Universal House of Justice