In regard to the Nineteen Day Feasts, Shoghi Effendi is of the opinion that the believers should be impressed with the importance of attending these gatherings which, in addition to their spiritual significance, constitute a vital medium for maintaining close and continued contact between the believers themselves, and also between them and the body of their elected representatives in the local community.

No radical action, such as the expulsion of any believer from the community, should, however, be taken in case anyone fails to attend these Feasts. It is for every individual believer to realize what the Cause requires from him in this matter. Any threat or menace can be of no avail, unless it is based on appeal to individual conscience and responsibility.

Also regarding the Nineteen Days Feasts: these are not strictly obligatory, but the believers should endeavour to regularly attend them, mainly for the following reasons: first, because they foster the spirit of service and fellowship in the community and secondly, in view of the fact that they afford the believer a splendid opportunity to fully discuss the affairs of the Cause and to find ways and means for continued improvement in the conduct of Bahá’í activities.

Attendance at Nineteen Day Feasts is not obligatory, but highly desirable, and effort should be made by the friends not to deprive themselves of this spiritual and communal rallying-point once in every Bahá’í month.

The Guardian has never heard of any ruling by which a believer who does not attend three consecutive Nineteen Day Feasts can be deprived of his voting rights. He does not consider that such action is justifiable at all. The whole question is whether a person considers himself a Bahá’í or not, and is willing to adhere to the principles of the Faith and accept the authority of the Guardian and the Administration — whether that individual is able, or always in a condition psychologically to attend Feasts and Bahá’í meetings is an entirely different subject. If a person makes it quite clear that they do not wish to be considered an active member of the Bahá’í Community and be affiliated with it and exert their voting right, then their name should be removed from the voting list; but if a person considers himself or herself a Bahá’í, and for various reasons is not able to be active in the affairs of the Community, then they should certainly not be removed from our voting list, least of all at present, when the number of the Bahá’í Community is so small.

He fully appreciates the difficult position your Assembly will be placed in if you adhere to the principle that the members of an Assembly and voting members of a community must live within the civic limits. However, he feels that Paris can be no exception to this general rule which he wishes the Bahá’ís to adhere to ALL OVER THE WORLD, in spite of any temporary inconvenience it may cause.

This does not mean that the Bahá’ís of Paris living outside the civic limits should not attend the Nineteen Day Feast and the Bahá’í Holy Days; on the contrary, they should take an active part in the affairs of the community in the sense of assisting with the teaching work, while at the same time not being active in the administrative work. He feels sure that in the end you will find that, far from having been weakened, your community will grow and be strengthened by this adherence to principle.

It is inconceivable and wholly inadmissible that any Bahá’ís in a Community should be permitted to hold a Feast in their home and refuse admission to another believer; and your Assembly should write accordingly in very strong terms to the … Assembly, pointing out that the Guardian is not only surprised to learn of this situation, but disapproves of it in the strongest terms.

Any Bahá’í may attend a Feast — a local Bahá’í, a Bahá’í from out of town, certainly an isolated Bahá’í from the neighbourhood.