- 2014-09-14 —
Some 500 people attend the unveiling of the design of the first local Bahá'í House of Worship in Norte del Cauca, Colombia
[BWNS1020]
- Julian Gutierrez Chacon was the architect for the House of Worship.
- The relationship between the environment of the region and the community was also expressed in the design of the House of Worship, which was inspired by the shape of the cocoa pod, a plant that grows abundantly in Colombia and was integral to the identity of the landscape and the lives and economy of the people.
- See BWNS for pictures.
- 2016-05-22 —
Some 700 people gathered on the temple land in the small village of Agua Azul, in the municipality of Villa Rica near Norte del Cauca, Colombia to participate in the groundbreaking ceremony of the first local Bahá'í House of Worship.
[BWNS1109]
- See BWNS1100 for pictures.
- Following the groundbreaking ceremony the three-meter high central mound on which the 18-meter tall Temple will stand will be completed, and the foundational work for the surrounding auxiliary structures will be laid. In time, these structures will be painted in the bright colors traditional to buildings in Colombia.
- 2017-02-23 —
Plans for the construction of the local Bahá'í House of Worship in Agua Azul, a village in Norte del Cauca, Colombia, reached an important milestone. Construction officially began in January after building contracts were formalized with a local firm in the region.
[BWNS1153]
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Concurrent with the building the House of Worship has been the reinforcement of activities that contributed to the spiritual and material progress of communities in and around Norte del Cauca. Inspired by the Temple, these community-building activities multiplied, and a spirit of prayer, devotion, and participation begun to increasingly permeate the area.
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Parallel to this, the community undertook a reforestation project, designated for a "Bosque Nativo" or native forest on an 11-hectare piece of land adjacent to the Temple site to reintroduce native vegetation which had been decimated by years of monoculture plantations of sugarcane.
- For pictures see BWNS1153
- For development report dated the 14th of May, 2017 see BWNS1168.
- 2018-02-22 — A progress report on the construction of the Mashriqul-Adhkar in Norte del Cauca was made. The main structural components of the central building had been completed and work had begun on the finishing of the floor and the walls as well as the placement of the roof tiles. Construction had begun in a number of auxiliary buildings. [BWNS1240]
- 2018-04-04 — A major milestone in the construction of the local Mashriqu'l-Adhkár in Agua Azul was reached. The crown on the topmost part of the roof was installed. [BWNS1020, BWNS1109, BWNS1168, BWNS1109, BWNS1248, BWNS1249]
- 2018-06-22 — Following the recitation of prayers, the carved teak Greatest Name symbol was raised 15 meters to be placed at the inner apex of the dome inside the local Bahá'í House of Worship in Agua Azul, Colombia. This marked the near-completion of the world's second local House of Worship.
[BWNS1268]
- 2018-07-22 —
The dedication of the second local Bahá'í House of Worship in the world in Norte del Cauca, Colombia. News of this project was announced in 2012 along with other projects in Battambang, Cambodia; Matunda Soy, Kenya; Bihar Sharif, India; and Tanna, Vanuatu.
(For information on the first local Mashriqu'l-Adhkár see here.)
The event marked the opening of a month-long inauguration period. In a series of weekly visits to the Temple, 1,500 people were expected to participate in a special program called "My First Visit to the Bahá'í House of Worship."
- In the Ridván Message of 2012 the Universal House of Justice announced that national Mashriqu'l-Adhkárs would to be raised up in two countries: the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Papua New Guinea and that the first local Houses of Worship were to be built in Battambang, Cambodia; Bihar Sharif, India; Matunda Soy, Kenya; Norte del Cauca, Colombia; and Tanna, Vanuatu. This was the second of those local Mashriqu'l-Adhkárs to have been completed. [Ridván 2012 Message]
- See the message from the Universal House of Justice dated 1 August 2014 where they pointed out the "the dynamic interaction between worship and endeavours to uplift the spiritual, social, and material conditions of society" and recalled the construction of the Mashriqu'l-Adhkárs in Turkistan and in America.
- The local Bahá'í House of Worship in Norte del Cauca, Colombia, included a budding native forest, called the Bosque Nativo, that aimed to restore the region's indigenous plants. This video in Spanish describes the Bosque Nativo's features.
- The Universal House of Justice was represented by Mrs. Carmen Elisa de Sadeghian who read a letter addressed to the attendees. "This House of Worship stands now as a symbol of the beauty inherent in the noble people of this region and its design evokes the generosity of their land," stated the letter, dated 22 July 2018. Also in attendance were Mr. Gustavo Correa and Dr. Farzam Arbab, two former members of the Universal House of Justice, as well as the mayors of four neighbouring towns. [BWNS1275]
- A musical group sang and dancers performed a piece titled "The Soul of Norte del Cauca," about the arrival of the Bahá'í Faith to the region and how Bahá'u'lláh's teachings are given expression in the hopes and aspirations of the people. The group also performed a song called "La Cumbia del Jardinero" which was made available on SoundCloud.
- See photo of the Greatest Name.
Specifics
Location: Aqua Azul, Notre del Cauca, Columbia
Property acquired:December, 2013
Design unveiled: 13 September, 2014
Groundbreaking: 22 May, 2016
Construction Period: January 2017 to July 2018
Site Dedication: 22 July, 2018
Architect:Mr. Gutierrez Chacón
Architectural firm:CUNA Engineering and Sustainable Architecture
Seating:
Dimensions:The Temple is 18 metres tall. Inside height is 15 metres.
Cost:
Dependencies:
References: BWNS1020;
BWNS1047;
BWNS1109;
BWNS1153;
BWNS1168;
BWNS1222;
BWNS1240;
BWNS1249;
BWNS1268,
BWNS1277.
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