Daniel C. Jordan Baha'i School

Nebraska Wesleyan University

Jeff Clinger and Jenn Ortegren, Researchers

The David C. Jordan Baha’i School in Lincoln, Nebraska, was founded on September 23, 1912, when Abdu'l Baha Abbas visited Lincoln on a nation wide tour.  While in Lincoln, Abbas visited the home of William Jennings Bryan, because Abbas knew Bryan to be a peace activist.  While at the home of Bryan, Abbas visited with Bryan’s wife and daughter. Upon leaving, Abbas revealed a prayer to the Bryan family which was rediscovered in the early 1990’s.

Members of the Lincoln Baha'i Community outside of Northeast Family Center (Fall 2001)

Though there are records of Baha’i in Omaha as early as the 1930’s, a Baha'i assembly did not form in Lincoln until 1953.  Between 1958 and 1965, there were too few Baha’i adults to hold an assembly, but in 1966 a local spiritual assembly was again formed.  This assembly was incorporated in 1971 and continues as an active Baha’i assembly in Lincoln.

Baha'i community worship was conducted in private homes and rented facilities until February of 2000 when services moved to the Northeast Family Resource Center in Lincoln. The Baha'i community hopes to raise the funds necessary to establish a permanent place of worship.

Demographics

The ages of the Baha’i community members range from 10 months to 83 years old, though a majority of the Baha'i population are 40-50 years old.  Ethnicities represented include Pakistani, Japanese, Greek, Persian, African-American, Native-American, and Caucasian.  During the 1970’s, a large influx of Vietnamese to Lincoln created a Vietnamese Baha’i population, which has a separate schedule for worship.

Entrance to the Northeast Family Center where the Baha'i classes and services are held (Fall 2001)

Description of the Center

The Northeast Family Resource Center provides childcare, parenting classes, and a family center for the surrounding community.  On Sunday, the Baha’i service takes place in the front room.  

Cooperative Relationships

The Baha’i assembly in Lincoln participates in the Lincoln Interfaith Council and is very welcoming to guests. Christian confirmation and university students are regular visitors.

Newsletters are another way to promote awareness and cooperation and the Baha'i utilize both the national The American Baha’i newsletter and Baha’i Link, a monthly newsletter distributed by the Lincoln Baha’i community to Nebraskan and Iowan Baha'i. The closest Baha'i temple is located in Wilmette, Illinois.

What kind of obstacles has the Baha'i community encountered in Lincoln?

When the Baha’i community first became active in Lincoln in the 1960’s, they struggled to join the Lincoln Interfaith Council because the council was open only to Christian communities at that time.  Ruth Hansen, a prominent and respected Baha'i spokesperson in Lincoln, suggests that there is anecdotal evidence that members of the Baha’i faith lost their jobs because of their religious affiliation 25-30 years ago.