2022 SSSC Election Reminder

There is an SSSC election occurring this year, with 8 seats up for re-election. The Office of the Secretary of Religion is here to support all Ministers in getting current so that they can participate in the various aspects of the SSSC election. 

On May 25, 2022 the SSSC announced that the election timeline originally announced earlier this year has been delayed by 75 days.

In order to vote in the election, and write letters of recommendation for Sangat members applying to join the electorate, all Ministers must be in good standing.  This means that they must have completed their annual credential renewal process for the 2022-2023 calendar year.  The Ministers who are current for last year will still need to complete this year’s renewal process, as the renewal period ended April 14, 2022, which is prior to the SSSC election requirements.

Here are are the updated deadlines for the SSSC Election to be aware of (by 8 p.m. EDT for all dates below):  

• September 13: deadline for Ministers to be in good standing in order to write letters of recommendation for Sangat members applying to join the electorate   
• October 8: deadline for Ministers to be in good standing in order to vote in the SSSC election

Ministers are welcome to contact us directly to check their status or ask any other questions at [email protected].

Serving: Our Greatest Blessing

SS Simran Singh, SS Sahaj Singh and Siri Sant Kaur pictured with the seva team serving in the Ukraine.

Since the outbreak of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict, Siri Sant Kaur, CEO of 3HO Europe, and SS Simran Singh, Director of the SSSC Office of Public Affairs, have been working hand in hand to help the crisis situation in Ukraine. In three days, $10,000 was raised and the two partners found themselves in Warsaw with a van full of food that Simran Singh had loaded and driven from Berlin.

A few months and some $100,000 in donations later, an extraordinary collaboration has been established between the Ukrainian logistical distribution network that supplies a large part of the country and our various Dharmic organizations.

With the help of our institutions, Sangats, Gurdwaras (USA, Malaysia, Germany), our field teams, the efforts of the NGOs, United Sikhs, SAVA, Peggy Allen Foundation, and others we have been blessed to serve the Ukrainian people.

65 tons of food that served 500,000 meals and numerous medical kits were shipped.

Thanks to the Sangats of 3HO Europe and international Sangats around the world who participated in a 120-day global meditation, with dedicated musicians playing live each night, a space of peace and comfort for our conflict-affected community vibrated each night.

As these words are being written a shipment of 16 tons of food and medical supplies will travel to continue our effort for our brothers and sisters of Ukraine.

Serving these people was a great learning experience about courage and faith, two of the values we live by in Sikh Dharma. Seeing these qualities come into their own on both sides gave us wings to brave the no-go areas and to work with Ukrainian teams who had given up their jobs and families to serve their people.

This is what remains most striking, the resilience and grace of the people of Ukraine.

While this crisis has brought back the ghosts of the past and the injustice of war, it has also created an unprecedented surge of solidarity, where borders have dissolved and we have seen ourselves united as ONE.