--
Long before segregation of the races
was outlawed in the United States,
Ruth Pringle stood up in support of
the oneness of humanity.
It was
in the late 1930s and Ruth Yancey (as
she was prior to marriage) arrived as
a student for her first lecture at a
school of nursing in the American
south.
Unlike
the other African American students,
Ruth firmly refused to sit in an area
set apart for those who were not
white.
It was
more than a decade before she was to
become a Baha'i and start her life's
work of spreading the teachings of
unity, especially to the indigenous
peoples of the Americas.
As a
Continental Counsellor, Ruth Pringle
performed such outstanding service
that after she passed away on 22
August 2003, aged 83, the Universal
House of Justice praised her as an
"intrepid champion" of the
Faith of God.
In the
1930s, and even up to the 1950s,
victims of racism in the United States
were expected to accept oppression
without complaint.
That
was not in Ruth's character. She made
it very clear to her fellow African
American students that she would never
comply with segregation in the
classroom.
She
refused to do so -- even when called
to the Dean's office to explain
herself.
As a
result of her principled stance, other
students gradually moved out from the
fenced-off area.
After
completing postgraduate courses in
surgical nursing and operating room
technique in Chicago, Ruth practised
as an operating room nurse, and
graduated with a degree in zoology
and chemistry.
She
became a Baha'i the first time she
read the writings of Baha'u'llah.
"Such
marvels were unveiled before my eyes
that both my heart and mind were
kindled and set afire -- now I knew
what I must do," she wrote in
an autobiographical sketch.
In
1953, two months after her
acceptance of the Faith, she left
for Puerto Rico as a
"pioneer" to assist in
building up the Baha'i community
there.
In
1956 she moved to Honduras, spent a
year in Guatemala, and then returned
to Honduras.
In
the evenings, after working long
hours as a registered nurse, she
conducted weekly Baha'i youth
activities at her home. They often
attracted some 100 young people from
all strata of society.
Ruth
participated in projects to
establish Local Spiritual
Assemblies, including in Nicaragua
where she pioneered on the eastern
coast of that country. In 1961 Ruth
was elected to the first National
Spiritual Assembly there.
Following
the death of the then Head of the
Faith, Shoghi Effendi, in 1957, at
least five Hands of the Cause
visited Central America.
"All
these Hands had a profound influence
on my formation and perhaps the
direction of my Baha'i life,"
she wrote.
She
said that one of them, Dr.
Rahmatu'llah Muhajir, had introduced
her to what she and her co-workers
had been searching for -- "the
sweetness of witnessing" the
establishment of the first
all-indigenous Baha'i community in
Nicaragua.
Her
marriage to Alan Pringle was the
first Baha'i wedding to be legally
recognized in Panama.
Taking
the Baha'i teachings to indigenous
people became their principal aim in
life, and they made strong links
with the native Guaymi people.
"Results
were immediately forthcoming, and
hundreds of indigenous believers
were enrolled, and all-indigenous
assemblies were formed," she
wrote.
Both
Ruth and Alan Pringle, as members of
the National Spiritual Assembly of
Panama, attended the 1963
International Convention in Haifa,
Israel, to participate in the first
election of the Universal House of
Justice.
At
the subsequent World Congress in
London, Mrs. Pringle had the honor
of giving an address on the topic of
"Victories of Pioneers".
She was on the same panel as Hand of
the Cause Enoch Olinga.
In
November 1963, she was appointed as
an Auxiliary Board member, and
traveled extensively in pursuit of
her duties.
She
spoke at international and
inter-oceanic conferences, and in
1975 had what she described as
"the inestimable
privilege" to serve with the
"Green Light Expedition,"
a major journey for the Baha'i Faith
undertaken in South America by
Madame Ruhiyyih Rabbani, a Hand of
the Cause and the widow of Shoghi
Effendi.
In
1980, Mrs. Pringle was appointed to
the Continental Board of Counsellors,
a position involving sustained hard
work and constant journeys overseas.
In
this capacity, she traveled to some
of the remote parts of the world,
guiding and encouraging young Baha'i
communities.
She
worked for the rights of women and
dedicated herself to the
establishment of the Guaymi Cultural
Center and radio station in Soloy in
the province of Chiriqui, Panama.
Her
next-door neighbor in Ciudad Colon,
Costa Rica, for the past 15 years,
Jere McKinney, said she was known
for her quick wit, her ready laugh,
her superb hospitality, and her
grasp of where Baha'is should direct
their efforts.
Mr.
McKinney described how Mrs. Pringle
would travel in remote parts of the
country on very basic transport and
arrive full of enthusiasm to assist
the Baha'is and speak about the
Faith.
One
day he accompanied Mrs. Pringle to
meet a very poor lady in a simple
hut with an earthen floor and adobe
walls.
"Ruth
pretty much swept her away with her
love and hugs and words of
encouragement," he said, adding
that the lady remembered her visit
for years afterwards.
Just
two weeks before her death, Mrs.
Pringle went to Jamaica to attend
the 60th anniversary of the
establishment of the first Local
Spiritual Assembly there.
In
her typical fashion, and despite
suggestions that for her health's
sake she might slow down, she had a
series of meetings with Baha'is --
especially youth -- spent an hour
discussing the Faith with a senior
official, and gave a talk about the
early days of the Faith's activities
on the island.
She
also participated in a devotional
meeting broadcast on the radio by
reading a passage from the
Kitab-i-Iqan (Book of Certitude), by
Baha'u'llah.
After
returning home to Costa Rica, Mrs.
Pringle passed away. She is survived
by her husband.
In a
message of tribute to Mrs. Pringle,
the Universal House of Justice
wrote: "Her magnificent career,
spanning a full-half century and
including two decades of splendid,
resolute service as a Continental
Counsellor, has shed new and fresh
luster upon the American Baha'i
community's historic world
mission."
Noting
her promotion of the Faith among the
indigenous peoples of the Americas,
the message continued: "May her
devoted and energetic life inspire
present and future generations to
emulate her shining example."
The
Universal House of Justice asked
National Spiritual Assemblies to
arrange befitting memorial meetings
in her honor throughout the Americas
and in both Houses of Worship there.
