US Baha'i News

Race unity. Economic equity. Interfaith understanding. The more Baha’is contribute to public discourse and social action on these and other often-intertwined issues, the more they learn. Welcoming, celebrating interracial families Sahba Jalali of Columbia, Missouri, is tapping into opportunities to engage — and serve the needs of — interracial families. “It is my anecdotal impression [...]

Cora Munn Tula Watters was an author and educator, esteemed as principal chief of the Shawnee Nation-Ohio Blue Creek Band. But in much of the United States, to members of the Baha’i Faith, of which she was an enthusiastic teacher, she was best known as matriarch of the sweetly harmonious singing group Watters and Daughters. [...]

What did it take for the junior youth spiritual empowerment program to advance in Hendersonville, Tennessee? Nothing short of a reassessment of the roles people can play, says Elizabeth Price. Here’s how it happened: A junior youth group was initiated to meet the needs of several kids from the Baha’i and wider communities, relates Price, [...]

Photo Gallery An intensive junior youth camp meets in Yerevan, Armenia. Photo courtesy of Haig Setrakian Click to enlarge and browse a gallery of related photos. When Haig Setrakian discovered the teachings of Baha’u’llah as a student in New York state, his first impulse was to look for connections with his roots — build a [...]

They’ve served actively. Now they’re married and diving into the “baby business.” How can young adult Baha’is find avenues of service that fit around parenthood? Billie Kay Bodie of Burchard, Nebraska, raised these concerns in consultation at the recent 104th U.S. Baha’i National Convention. Thankfully, she had an example at the ready of someone who [...]

The National Spiritual Assembly of the Baha’is of the United States is one of several supporting sponsors, along with the Boston Globe and public television station WGBH, of the National Race Amity Conference which will be held May 18-19 at Wheelock College. The second annual conference opens with a Thursday evening welcome reception that features sponsor presentations [...]

I became a Baha’i on the Feast of ‘Izzat in 1973, 38 years ago. I grew up in a Jewish family in Newton, Mass., but my family was not devout. We celebrated Passover and Chanukah and my parents sent me to Hebrew School when I was little but, honestly, none of it connected with me. [...]

More than 200 talented voices from nine nations will sing beautiful sacred music at the 2012 Baha’i Choral Festival with two free public concerts on Sunday May 27th at Wilmette’s renowned Baha’i Temple. Rich harmonies and uplifting music will fill the 1,200-seat Baha’i House of Worship beginning at 9:30 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. that Sunday. [...]

In the blog State of Formation, Phillipe Copeland emphasizes the importance of engaging in interreligious dialogue and being attentive to including the intersections of faith and race into these conversations. “According to the Abrahamic traditions, including Judaism, Christianity, Islam and the Baha’i Faith, the universe itself was spoken into being. This offers a fitting metaphor for [...]

Photo Gallery Centenary devotional programs bring thousands to the Baha’i House of Worship in Wilmette, Illinois Click to enlarge and browse a gallery of related photos. Every seat filled. A hush in the air. That was the Auditorium of the Baha’i House of Worship in Wilmette, Illinois, until the strains of “Ya Baha’u'l-Abha,” sung by [...]

Enjoy Illinois is doing a fan favorite sweepstakes! Beginning Monday, May 7th, you can vote for your favorite Illinois attractions for a chance to win an Illinois getaway and a $500 Shell Gift Card! The Baha’i House of Worship has been paired with the Adler Planetarium. Vote now at:  https://www.facebook.com/EnjoyIllinois/app_263653463729978. The winner will be chosen [...]

By. Tracy Simmons as originally posted on SpokaneFAVS A Spokane Valley man joined Bahá’ís from across the country this weekend in Wilmette, Ill. to elect a new National Spiritual Assembly, discuss spiritual issues and celebrate Ridvan. Joseph F. Urlacher, the Bahá’í delegate for Eastern Washington and Northern Idaho, said the 104th Baha’i National Convention was [...]

Outreach in two areas flanking Phoenix, Arizona, has inspired residents who have their own struggles to work alongside Baha’is for change where they live. In Mesa in the East Valley cluster of Baha’i communities, the junior youth spiritual empowerment program for ages 11–14 has captured imaginations in neighborhoods. They have encountered many people who share [...]

The Dalton, Georgia, Baha’i community once was much larger and quite active in the greater society. The director of a new community center in the recession-devastated “Carpet Capital of the World” remembers. When Baha’is recently took a barrel of donated canned food items to the center, he spoke of attending events they had sponsored. Would [...]

Mavis Creager spent nearly 15 years in Japan teaching conversational English and making many connections to help Baha’i communities grow. She passed away January 18, 2012, at age 76. Her home of the past 18 years was La Crosse, Wisconsin, and she lived most of her life in that state. In a letter of condolence [...]

Elise Schreiber Lynelle traveled as a young woman to South America and Africa in service to the Baha’i Faith, and was honored twice as a Knight of Baha’u’llah for helping establish Baha’i communities in territories that are now part of Equatorial Guinea and São Tomé and Principe. She passed away on February 26, 2012, at [...]

In Baha’i Blog, Kathryn writes about the relationship between the Baha’i Faith and Persian culture. Read the full blog entry  

It was a look back at a pivotal point in development of the fledgling national Baha’i community of 1912. It was an assessment of where that community stands. And more: a glimpse at next steps in applying the teachings of Baha’u’llah in the building of a humane, ever-advancing civilization. Photo Gallery The Chicago Theatre set [...]

Read some recent articles from publications in the Chicago area about the Baha’i Faith, the Baha’i House of Worship and the centenary of ‘Abdu’l-Baha’s visit to America: Wilmette Life: ‘Centenary events set for Baha’i House of Worship in Wilmette’. 4/17/2012 Wilmette-Kenilworth Patch: ‘Baha’i House of Worship celebrates 100th anniversary‘. 4/20/2012 Chicago Sun-Times: ‘Celebration honors centennial of Baha’i [...]

Sandra Lynn Hutchison explains the significance of the Festival of Ridvan in this entry on In Culture Parent.