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.

Committee Duties

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

Features of Bahá’í Burial

  • Restrictions against cremation
  • Placement of a Bahá’í ring
  • Use of crystal or wooden coffins
  • Cemetery within one hour’s distance from the place of death
  • Recitation of the congregational prayer for the departed

Requests for assistance are channeled through the Assembly Secretary.

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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