The Pluralism Project at Harvard University

History

The first Baha'i teacher in Arizona was Ms. Nellie French (d. 1954), who came to the area after she was told by Abdu'l-Baha' in a vision, "You must hurry and go to Arizona." Although Ms. French and another early teacher (Ms. Millie Collins) had left Arizona by 1918, a small number of Baha'i families remained behind. Individual Baha'i teachers were active in copper mining cities such as Bisbee and Tombstone in southeastern Arizona in the first part of the century; later, as Tucson and Phoenix grew in importance, small numbers of Baha'is relocated to what became Arizona's two major population centers.

Although Baha'is have been present in the Phoenix area since the late 1930s and early 1940s, it wasn't until 2002 that the Baha'i Spiritual Assemblies in communities throughout the Valley were able to generate enough funds and community support to establish a permanent center. When the new Baha'i Information Center opened in Tempe, it replaced previous Baha'i reliance on rented venues and individual homes for prayer. The distinctive new building -- designed by a Baha'i architect living in Arizona -- incorporates symbols and materials with distinct connections to the state.

Activities and Schedule

The center is open Tuesday through Sunday from 10 a.m. until 7 p.m. It is closed on Mondays. Prayers are held each Sunday morning between 7 a.m. and 10 a.m. In addition, the information center hosts an "Inter-Faith Devotional Gathering" every Sunday morning at 9 a.m. and also at 7:30 p.m. on the first Friday of each month. The center sponsors Virtue Classes for children (from 3:30 p.m. until 4:30 p.m. on the 2nd and 4th Friday of each month) and is an active supporter of the Baha'i Student Organization on the nearby campus of Arizona State University. The Valley Baha'i Community produces an hour-long segment called the Baha'i Hour that is mostly in Spanish and aired on Public Access TV. There are two hour-long radio shows (The Baha'i Hour and Interfaith Devotional Broadcast), also broadcast across the Valley. A monthly newsletter called Talking Drum alerts the community to special events and observances.

Demographics

The center serves the entire Baha'i community of the area, including Baha'is in Avondale, Chandler, Fountain Hills, Gilbert, Mesa, Apache Junction, Gold Canyon, Phoenix, Scottsdale and other local cities. The community is very diverse ethnically and spread out over a wide range of ages. The community has a strong missionary intent, and this is reflected in significant outreach attention to Spanish-speakers and to Native Americans.

Description

The Baha'i Information center was built on a vacant lot immediately east of Arizona State Univerity in Tempe. Designed by Jason Islamieh, the structure promotes environmental awareness while at the same time expresses a rich symbolic Baha'i vocabulary. The building is carefully landscaped to match to highlight native plants and minimize water use. Inside, the building includes the Seat of the Local Spiritual Assembly (used for local administrative purposes) and the much larger Great Hall, a prayer and assembly room oriented in the direction of the shrine of Baha'u'llah at Bahji outside of Akka (in modern Israel).