The Bahai faith in Los Angeles will...

The Bahai faith in Los Angeles will reach a milestone Sunday with the formal dedication of its worship center--once a 32-lane bowling alley and pool hall that was converted and slowly refurbished over several years.

Bahaism has an estimated 4.5 million adherents worldwide. Founded in the last century in Iran by Mirza Husayn-Ali, known as Baha’u’llah, the religion honors other world faiths and emphasizes the unity of humankind. During the 1970s, many Iranian Bahais fled persecution in their homeland.

Intentionally interracial in makeup, the 80-year-old Los Angeles Bahai community was 30% black in the 1930s when its meetings were racially integrated--an unprecedented step then for any religious body. Despite its small membership, Bahai has often managed to make its presence known in peace-advocacy events and in support of the United Nations. A decade ago, its slogan, “One Planet, One People . . . Please,” was a common sight on auto bumpers and bus advertisements.

The Bahai Center at 5755 Rodeo Road, near La Cienega Boulevard, officially serves members who live within the Los Angeles city limits--about 1,400 people--but it is anticipated that its 750-seat auditorium and numerous meeting rooms will host regional gatherings as well.

Burrell Bullock, chairman of the Bahai Local Spiritual Assembly, said it cost $2.5 million to renovate the building, which has been in partial use for four or five years.

Los Angeles Mayor Tom Bradley and other dignitaries are expected to be present Sunday for the two-hour dedication ceremonies starting at 2 p.m.

HOLIDAYS

The Jewish High Holy Days, a period of reflection and rededication, will begin Sunday at sundown. Rosh Hashanah services, marking the New Year 5749 on the Jewish calendar, will be conducted at synagogues and temples on Sunday evening and Monday morning. In most cases, members hold reserved tickets for the well-attended services at the start and end of the 10-day period. But Temple Emanuel of Beverly Hills announced that it will continue its 20-year tradition of offering High Holy Day services for non-members on a first-come basis. Open to all comers is the annual Tashlich ceremony 3 p.m. Monday at water’s edge on Santa Monica beach where Santa Monica Synagogue members will symbolically cast their sins into the sea. The synagogue is affiliated with Reform Judaism’s Union of American Hebrew Congregations and the Bureau of Jewish Education.

MEDIA

The Crystal Cathedral’s Robert H. Schuller will be preaching twice Sunday morning, Sept. 18, at the world’s largest church--Seoul’s Yoido Full Gospel Church-- the day after the Summer Olympics opening ceremonies in South Korea. The Rev. Paul Yongii Cho, pastor of the 750,000-member church, invited Schuller, whose motivational books are translated into many languages. His home church wasn’t forgotten: A courier will take a videotape of the service to Tokyo; it will be transmitted by satellite to Vancouver, Canada, then relayed to Hollywood and shown later that morning on a giant screen in Schuller’s Garden Grove congregation. The same tape will be the basis for a subsequent “Hour of Power” telecast.