[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 154 (2008), Part 1]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 1534]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                 HONORING BAHA'I COMMUNITY OF SAN JOSE

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. ZOE LOFGREN

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, February 6, 2008

  Ms. ZOE LOFGREN of California. Madam Speaker, I rise to acknowledge 
and honor Baha'i Community of San Jose's 50th anniversary. The Baha'i 
Faith, in just 150 years, has become an independent, second most 
widespread world religion whose five million followers are made up of 
more than 2,100 diverse ethnic, racial and tribal groups. The 
organization has more than 157,000 members in the United States.
  The Baha'i Faith includes teachings that promote the principle of 
equal rights for men and women, advocate compulsory education, abolish 
extremes of poverty and wealth, honor work performed in the spirit of 
service to the rank of worship, recommend the adoption of an auxiliary 
international language, and provide the necessary agencies for the 
establishment and safeguarding of a permanent and universal peace. The 
Baha'i Communities of San Jose and of the United States operate more 
than one thousand grassroots social and economic development projects 
throughout the world.
  This faith-based organization not only provides spiritual guidance 
for their members, but they also provide charitable work to the 
community at large. Some of their local civic activities include the 
membership in the Martin Luther King, Jr. Association, membership in 
the Network for a Hate Free Community, Juneteenth Festival, Second 
Harvest Food Collections, highway cleanup, and 22 years sponsorship of 
a service awards banquet recognizing notable individuals and 
organizations for their community service based on Baha'i principles. 
Baha'i Community of San Jose provides these valuable services at no 
cost to the Baha'i Communities of the South Bay and the Santa Clara 
Valley Community at large.
  In their 50 years of dedication and hard work. Baha'i Community of 
San Jose has assisted thousands of people. Baha'i Community of San Jose 
serves people of all beliefs, cultures, ethnicities and ages and serves 
a diverse population from various ethnic backgrounds.
  It is indeed an honor and a privilege to have a warm, welcoming, and 
nurturing organization in my district that appreciates and honors the 
diversity that makes America, and specifically San Jose, California a 
most desirable place to live, work and raise a family.

                          ____________________