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World
Sikh Council - America Region
Sikh Gurudwaras and other
Indian places of worship can be found across the US, Canada
and North America where NRI and people from India, and the
subcontinent congregate to socialize and worship. For a comprehensive
listing, visit Gurudwara
section of GaramChai.com.
Langar
being served by Sikh volunteers of Sikh Religious Society
of Chicago (Photo courtesy of WSC-AR)
Press Release: The
World Sikh Council America Region (WSC-AR) participated in
the first National Gathering of Religious Leaders held January
23 25, 2006 in Chicago.
The meeting was organized by Religions for Peace (RFP) USA
for the primary purpose of bringing together senior leaders
representing national religious organizations to build relationships
amongst them and their communities for fostering societal
progress.
The highlight of the national event was the langar (Sikh community
meal) served on the evening of January 24 by the Sikh Religious
Society of Chicago at Palatine (member organization of WSC-AR
since 1996). Volunteers from the Palatine Gurdwara Sahib prepared
the langar meal and served it with utmost reverence to the
religious leaders in attendance who sat cross-legged on white
sheets on the floor with their heads covered with scarves.
The langar served at the gathering emphasized the inherent
equality of all human beings irrespective of religious affiliation,
creed, race, ethnicity, gender, etc.
Mr. Surinderpal Singh, Vice-Chairperson of WSC-AR, who led
the Sikh delegation at the meeting reflected, ?This landmark
gathering was an opportunity to build deep and long-lasting
relationships among the senior representatives of national
religious organizations so that we can work towards developing
closer collaborations among our diverse national religious
organizations.
Dr. Anahat Kaur, Chair of the WSC-AR Education Committee,
facilitated a discussion group focusing on concerns and priorities
of religious leaders in the US. Dr. Kaur remarked, ?The beauty
of the event was the sincere attitude of collaboration expressed
by so many religious representatives. We prayed and laughed
together. This first gathering has helped us to get to know
each other better and work towards building bridges for healing
this imperfect world of ours. She further added that
?without justice the world will not know peace.
Dr. Tarunjit Singh, Chair of the WSC-AR Interfaith Committee
and a member of RFP-USA?s Executive Council was a panelist
on the evening session of Jan 24 after the langar on the theme
of ?Role of US Religious Leaders in the 21st Century.
Other fellow panelists were Rev. Clifton Kirkpatrick (Stated
Clerk, Presbyterian Church USA), Rev. William Sinkford (President,
Unitarian Universalist Association), and Dr. David Elcott
(US Director, American Jewish Committee). Dr. Singh emphasized
in his remarks that ?our roles as faith representatives are
complimentary to one another and not in competition with each
other? and challenged the religious leaders of the present
and future to be ?more transformational and less transactional.
About 50 organizational representatives from nearly a dozen
faith traditions participated in the gathering. More than
a dozen of these were the most senior religious leaders of
their traditions / organizations. Some of the organizations
represented at the conference included the National Council
of Churches, US Conference of Catholic Bishops, Presbyterian
Church USA, Armenian Church in America, Unitarian Universalist
Association, Orthodox Church in America, Focolare Movement,
Union for Reform Judaism, American Jewish Committee, Islamic
Society of North America, The Mosque Cares, American Muslim
Alliance, American Muslim Council, Sokka Gakkai International,
Rissho Kosei-kai, Buddha Light International Association,
International Society of Krishna Consciousness, Federation
of Jain Associations in North America, National Spiritual
Assembly of Bahai?s, and World Sikh Council America Region,
among others.
The World Sikh Council America Region has been a member organization
of Religion for Peace ?USA since 2003. During the conference,
Faith and Values Media showcased a publicity commercial for
RFP-USA which includes Mr. Harpreet Singh, a member of the
WSC-AR governing board from 2003 to 2005. The commercial will
be broadcast repeatedly in the next few months on the Hallmark
Cable Channel.
Religions for Peace (RFP) - USA is a coalition comprised of
leaders from over 50 U.S. religious communities and is one
of 55 national chapters of Religions for Peace International.
RFP-USA operates on the conviction that multi-religious cooperation
and common action can be powerful instruments in the quest
for constructive social development, justice, reconciliation,
and peace.
The World Sikh Council America Region (WSC-AR) is a representative
and elected body of Sikh Gurdwaras and institutions in the
United States. Its members include 40 Gurdwaras (Sikh places
of worship) and other Sikh institutions across the nation.
WSC-AR works to promote Sikh interests at the national and
international level focusing on issues of advocacy, education,
and well-being of humankind.
Member Gurdwaras of WSC-AR include Gurudwaras
listed on GaramChai.com.
*********************
World Sikh Council America Region (WSC-AR)
P.O. Box 3635, Columbus, Ohio 43210, USA
Phone: 614-210-0591
E-mail: contact@worldsikhcouncil.org
Website: www.worldsikhcouncil.org
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