Philadelphia Bahá’í

Community resources

Services

Information about services offered by the Local Spiritual Assembly and its committees, along with a full directory of contacts.

Committee service

Decedent Affairs

The Decedent Affairs Committee assists with funeral and burial requirements, guiding families through the process with care and in accordance with Bahá’í law.

I.

Committee Duties

  1. 01Advising families and funeral directors about the requirements of Bahá’í funerals
  2. 02Planning of memorial services at funeral homes and graveside prayers
  3. 03Reaching out to the family, friends, and community members for assistance with washing and shrouding

II.

Features of Bahá’í Burial

  1. 01Restrictions against cremation
  2. 02Placement of a Bahá’í ring
  3. 03Use of crystal or wooden coffins
  4. 04Cemetery within one hour’s distance from the place of death
  5. 05Recitation of the congregational prayer for the departed

For assistance

Contact the Assembly Secretary

lsaofphiladelphia@gmail.com

Cluster service

Area Teaching Committee

The Area Teaching Committee coordinates efforts in support of community building throughout the cluster, such as organizing home visits to friends who would benefit from deepening and discussions, enhancing and supporting efforts underway for holding devotional meetings, and supporting individual and collective efforts toward teaching the Faith.

The Area Teaching Committee is also the convener of the Cluster Reflection Gathering, held every three months to evaluate results from teaching endeavors, establish new teaching goals, and plan how to achieve them.

Please contact us if you have any questions or would like assistance in carrying out home visits and/or hosting devotionals.

Contact

Behrouz Tavangar

Area Teaching Committee

PhillyAreaATC@gmail.com

More services

Other Committee Services

Additional information about these services is being prepared.

Membership & Enrollment

Information about enrolling in the Bahá’í community.

Coming soon

Personal Assistance Committee

Support and assistance for community members.

Coming soon

Feast & Holy Day Committee

Planning and coordination of Nineteen-Day Feasts and Holy Day observances.

Coming soon

Treasury

Information about the Bahá’í Fund and contributions.

Coming soon

Spiritual Assembly

Assembly & Committees

The Local Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of Philadelphia and its committees.

Assembly Secretary

Nancy Tichenor

lsaofphiladelphia@gmail.com

Assembly Treasurer

Alexander Kruszewski

treasury.phila.bahai@gmail.com

Feast & Holy Days Committee

Sahar Ghaeinzadeh

PhillyFeastHolyDay@gmail.com

Membership Assistant

Azeb Kinder

phillybahaimembership@gmail.com

Center Scheduler

Sojourner Gleeson

CenterScheduler@gmail.com

Revell House Scheduler

JoAnn Arcos

revellscheduler@gmail.com

Enrollment Committee

John McNelis

john.mcnelis19@gmail.com

Decedent Affairs Committee

Joseph Bolton

joebolton127@gmail.com

Personal Assistance Committee

Karina (Karen) Eshraghi

PACPhillyBahai@gmail.com

Bulletin Editor

Sarah Beth Gleeson

PhillyBahaiBulletin@gmail.com

Library

James Tichenor

bahailibraryphila@gmail.com

Neighborhood coordination

Sector Coordinators

Coordinators for Bahá’í activities in each sector of Philadelphia.

Center City / South

Saman Yazdi

samanpyazdi@gmail.com

North

Arman Rowshan

Arman.Rowshan@gmail.com

Northeast

John McNelis

john.mcnelis19@gmail.com

Northwest

Jane McDay

janeamcday@yahoo.com

West / Southwest

TBD

To be announced

Philadelphia Area Cluster

Cluster Coordination

Coordinators for teaching, training, and community-building across the Philadelphia cluster.

Area Teaching Committee

Behrouz Tavangar

PhillyAreaATC@gmail.com

Clearance Assistant

Mark Dunmire

subr4clrasst@gmail.com

Cluster Institute Coordinator

Jiaan Mansuri

jmansuri@icloud.com

Cluster Institute Coordinator

Tara Anand

tara.v.anand@gmail.com

Cluster Statistics Officer

James Tichenor

Stats.Philadelphia.PA@bahai.us
Bahá’í calligraphy

Need to get in touch?

Visit our contact page for the full directory, locations, and a map to both the Bahá’í Center and Revell House.

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