"Great joy and a feeling of accomplishment are what we are feeling right now," said Carol Yetkin, a Baha'i since 1979. "We've been systematically planning and working for this for a long time."

The Baha'i Community of Oak Park has been an organized presence here since 1940. The office suite is modest compared with meeting places of other local religious groups. But the local community itself is small - 28 adults and 12 children. Local Baha'is are among 5 million worldwide. That's in comparison to almost a billion Roman Catholics.

The opening of this center Sunday was both a dream come true and, at the same time, one small step toward the hoped-for realization of another, greater Baha'i vision. Amy Gandomi Lewis, an Oak Park resident who has been a Baha'i her whole life, said that unlike many religions that focus on salvation of individuals, Baha'i faithful go "for the salvation of the whole world."

Baha'is believe that their founder, Baha'u'llah, who was born in 1817 in Iran, is the latest in a series of messengers - including Abraham, Krishna, Zoroaster, Moses, Buddha, Jesus and Muhammad - who taught people lessons appropriate for their particular time in history.

That fusion of different religions is what attracted Fred Jackson, a black man who lives in Berwyn and was active in the civil rights movement while in college. He says that during a time of spiritual searching, he happened to read about the Baha'is. The more he read, the more he found himself saying, "I agree with that. I agree with that."

Yetkin says that with the advent of the Internet, instant communication and transcontinental flights, there's a new awareness of global togetherness. "That is where the world is at right now," she said.

The new Baha'i center is in Suite A at 126 N. Oak Park Ave. and at www.opbahai.org. For details about this religious community, e-mail opbahai@bci.org or leave a phone message at 708-386-1999.