Inquiry Services News

September 2026

U.S. Baha'i Office of Public Affairs

Inquiry Services Team

There is no paradise more wondrous for any soul than to be exposed to God's Manifestation in His Day, to hear His verses and believe in them, to attain His presence, which is naught but the presence of God, to sail upon the sea of the heavenly kingdom of His good-pleasure, and to partake of the choice fruits of the paradise of His divine Oneness.

—The Báb, Selections from the Writings of The Báb

A Journey of Faith

Terri Thompson

I feel truly grateful to be here today. Actually, to be alive is nothing short of a miracle.

For years, I looked to others instead of looking within. I admit that years ago, I would jump from one spiritual practice to another never understanding that asking for help was not a sign of weakness.

I was initially introduced to the Baha'i faith 50 years ago. But at 18 college came and so did the addiction to alcohol and drugs. The only worshipping I did was to those who supplied me with intoxicants.

Many years of destructive behavior followed and I ceased believing in any higher power that did not come in a glass. But that ended on a bright summer's day when I took my 5 year old for a car ride when I was in an inebriated state. When I 'came to,' I realized we were no longer in the state of Pennsylvania... we were in Delaware. Thank God that I did not kill or injure anyone.

Within a week, I was admitted to a drug and alcohol rehabilitation facility. Once I was discharged, I joined Alcoholics Anonymous.

36 years of sobriety later, I began to research the Baha'i faith in earnest. I also did something that had become totally foreign to me. I reached out for information. This is when I met Allison.

Allison, thank you for reaching out and staying in touch. I'd also like to thank Terri from the Edmond Baha'is and the Norman Baha'is. I truly feel like a part of the community.

Terri Thompson

Oklahoma

Unit Convention

If you'd like to share stories and updates about Seeker Response at your Convention, talk to your

Unit's Convention Planning Committee.

IMS Tip to Help Share

at Unit Convention

Here is how you can filter IMS to show data of your region or cluster at your Unit Convention:

1) Click on “Filter” with the funnel icon, next to the search bar.

2) Click on “+ Add Filter”. A page opens where filters can be added,

each filter is a group of three fields:

The top field is a drop-down menu listing all column headers that can be filtered. For this you can choose "Origination Date"
The middle field is a drop-down menu of the filtering rule. Here you can choose "between"
The bottom field is a text or numerical field, depending on the filtering rule selected. Here you pick the two date ranges you wish to choose from.

3) You can click on “+ Add Filter” again if you wish to filter for a specific cluster

4) Once all filters are added, click the “Apply” button at the bottom of the page to see the customized grid-view. Filters can be cleared by clicking “Clear Filters”

5) Once you have the filter exactly how you want it, you can click on "Export to Excel" and you can share this information at your Unit Convention.

IMPORTANT: You may share numbers of inquiries, source of inquiries, what towns people inquired from, etc, but not personal data.

New Web Page

Good news! We now have a website page for new members that was just published. This is included as a resource in the new members' packet for new Baha'is. Here is the link:

https://www.bahai.us/newmembers/

Meet Our Newest Addition

As we welcome Shadi Tanara to the team, we also extend our heartfelt appreciation to Kimberly Kurrus as she begins her well-deserved retirement. Kimberly has been a valued member of our team, and we are grateful for the dedication and contributions she has made throughout her time with us. We wish her all the very best in this exciting new chapter.

- Office of Public Affairs

Hello everyone! My name is Shadi, and I’m so happy to be joining the Inquiry Services team. My professional background is in construction and engineering, but my service background has been rooted in serving at the grassroots.

For the past couple of years, I’ve also had the absolute joy of being home with my two year old son. Outside of work and service, I love baking and making charcuterie boards, two creative outlets that I especially enjoy when I can share what I make with family and friends.

I feel truly grateful and incredibly privileged to have the opportunity to serve on the Inquiry Services team. I’m looking forward to getting to know everyone, learning from each of you, and growing alongside the team. I’m so excited to be here and to begin this new chapter of service with all of you!

With love and gratitude,

Shadi Tanara

With deepest appreciation for your service!

Inquiry Services serves in the recently merged Office of Communications and Office of Public Affairs.

Inquiry Service Team:

*Appalachia, Atlantic, Florida, Northeast, Southeast:

Setareh Vahdati-Shams Svahdati-Shams@bahai.us

(847) 425-8604 (call only)

*California, Four Corners, Northwest, South Central:

Nicole Zamir Nicole.Zamir@bahai.us

(847) 733-3408 (call only)

*Heartland, Midwest, Northern Plains, Prairie States:

Shadi Tanara Shadi.Tanara@bahai.us

847-733-3577 (call only)

*IMS Development:

IMS-help@bahai.us