[Congressional Record Volume 158, Number 61 (Thursday, April 26, 2012)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E665-E666]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 RECOGNIZING THE CENTENARY OF THE BAHA'I HOUSE OF WORSHIP IN WILMETTE, 
                                ILLINOIS

                                 ______
                                 

                       HON. JANICE D. SCHAKOWSKY

                              of illinois

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, April 26, 2012

  Ms. SCHAKOWSKY. Mr. Speaker, the Baha'i House of Worship is a source 
of great

[[Page E666]]

pride in my district--not just because of its beauty but more 
importantly because of its meaning as a place of faith, unity and 
peace. I rise today to commemorate the laying of its cornerstone one 
hundred years ago and to congratulate the Baha'i community for a 
century of worship in this magnificent temple.
  The Chicago area has played a pivotal role in the development of the 
Baha'i community in America. The first public mention of the Baha'i 
faith was in Chicago on September 23, 1893. It happened at the World's 
Parliament of Religions, which was connected with the Columbian 
Exposition commemorating the four hundredth anniversary of the 
discovery of America.
  In 1907, the Local Assembly of the Baha'i of Chicago was 
incorporated, making Chicago the first local Baha'i community in the 
world to acquire legal status.
  The Baha'i House of Worship in Wilmette has been a focus of the 
Baha'i world for over a century. It began with the vision of 11 local 
Baha'is in Chicago, who began work on it in 1903. Its cornerstone was 
laid in 1912. In 1953, following two World Wars, the Great Depression, 
and numerous financial and technical difficulties, the Baha'i community 
completed construction of the temple. Fifty years after its vision was 
conceived, this House of Worship, which was the first Baha'i Temple in 
the West and is known as ``the Mother Temple of the West,'' opened its 
doors to the peoples of the world. The temple in Wilmette, like the six 
Baha'i temples throughout the world erected after it, is free and open 
to people of all backgrounds and is offered as a place for peaceful 
prayer, meditation, and reflection.
  One hundred years ago, `Abdu'l-Baha, the son of the founder of the 
Baha'i Faith, arrived in America and he participated in the historic 
cornerstone laying ceremony. A prisoner of the Persian and Ottoman 
empires since childhood, `Abdu'l-Baha left the Ottoman prison fortress 
of Akka at the age of 67 and set out on a historic journey to the West, 
which culminated in a 239-day journey through America. He traveled to 
several important cities across the country and met with people of 
diverse backgrounds, teaching the elimination of racial prejudice, the 
equality of women and men, the unity of religions, and the fundamental 
oneness of all humankind.
  Throughout his travels, `Abdu'l-Baha spoke of the great destiny of 
America. In a public talk in Cleveland, he stated, ``This revered 
American nation presents evidences of greatness and worth. It is my 
hope that this just government will stand for peace so that warfare may 
be abolished throughout the world and the standards of national unity 
and reconciliation be upraised. This American nation is equipped and 
empowered to accomplish that which will adorn the pages of history, to 
become the envy of the world and be blest in the East and the West for 
the triumph of its democracy.''
  One of the most significant events of `Abdu'l-Bahas journey was the 
laying of the cornerstone of the Baha'i House of Worship on the shores 
of Lake Michigan in Wilmette. For several decades, Baha'is around the 
world sent money to support the construction of the temple. One of the 
Baha'is who wanted to support the construction of the temple, was 
Nettie Tobin, a humble seamstress living in Chicago. Nettie had no cash 
money to contribute for the Temple but thought she might find a stone 
for its construction. Nettie went to a construction site and asked for 
a stone from the foreman, who pointed out to her a pile of rejected 
stones from which she could choose. With the help of a neighbor she got 
the large limestone home and sometime later, through an even greater 
effort involving a baby carriage and a wagon, deposited it on the 
temple grounds in Wilmette.
  `Abdu'l-Baha arrived in Chicago on April 29, 1912, and, while there, 
penned a special prayer for America. The next day he spoke to over one 
thousand people gathered in Chicago for the public session of the 
Baha'i Temple Unity convention on the subject of building the Baha'i 
Temple. The evening before the laying of the cornerstone of the House 
of Worship in Wilmette--`Abdu'l-Baha the son of the Founder of the 
Baha'i Faith, explained that places of worship have a special unifying 
power:

       In brief, the original purpose of temples and houses of 
     worship is simply that of unity--places of meeting where 
     various peoples, different races and souls of every capacity 
     may come together in order that love and agreement should be 
     manifest between them . . . that all religions, races and 
     sects may come together within its universal shelter, that 
     the proclamation of the oneness of mankind shall go forth 
     from its open courts of holiness . . .

  On May 1, a chilly, blustery and overcast day, a tent was erected on 
the temple grounds and hundreds gathered for the dedication of the 
temple. `Abdu'l-Baha, standing at the center of the crowd, called for 
Nettie Tobin's stone. The ground was so hard that `Abdu'l-Baha swung an 
ax to break through the rigid topsoil, and representatives of various 
races and countries came forward to share in the digging. After 
`Abdu'l-Baha rolled the cornerstone into the ground he proclaimed, 
``The Temple is already built.''
  On this hundredth anniversary of the laying of the cornerstone, I 
thank the Baha'is for their contribution to our district and I 
congratulate the Baha'is of Wilmette, Chicago, and, indeed, the world 
on this important centenary.

                          ____________________