by SS Atma Chanan Kaur Khalsa, Ph.D., Little River, California 2024 (Third Quarter) “Thousand are Thy forms, and yet Thou has no form.” When I think of religion and interfaith, two ongoing events come to mind: the war between Israel and Palestine and the U.S. 1993 Government Act that guarantees that local laws abide by the first amendment of the Constitution—our basic right to free speech and religious freedom. When passing this bill, former U.S. president Bill Clinton cancelled the firing of two Native American counselors from a rehabilitation clinic after they had used Peyote in a religious ceremony. Such
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Archives for Interfaith
Making the Planet Whole through Interfaith Work
Common Grace
by SS Shiva Singh Khalsa & SS Shabad Kaur Khalsa, Evanston, Illinois 2024 (Third Quarter) When the Catholic Church decided to open dialogue with other Christian traditions, it was called ecumenical dialogue. When they decided it was a good idea to talk to the other Abrahamic faiths—Judaism and Islam—it was called interfaith. When the Parliament of the World’s Religions met in 1893 in Chicago it opened the gate to interreligious dialogue where everyone spoke to everyone. For us as Sikhs this should sound very familiar! Guru Nanak exemplified a life of interreligious dialogue. It is part of a Sikh minister’s
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“Experience Interfaith” in Phoenix, Arizona
by SS Gurukirn Kaur Khalsa, Phoenix, Arizona 2024 (Third Quarter) Strings of overhead lights illuminated the intricate patterns of the marble courtyard. Around the edge, members from the Arizona Interfaith Movement engaged in conversation with guests as part of a Faith Fair. They addressed unusual questions and shared information about their different spiritual paths – Buddhist, Christian, Hindu, Sikh, Scientology, Jewish, Bahai, Jain etc. In the middle of the courtyard, our team members tied colorful turbans. The mood was quite jovial. Following the ‘Faith Fair,’ participants gathered in small groups in the Langar Hall for Conversation Circles, where each person
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Interreligious Dialogue from a Sikh Perspective: Lessons from Bolivia
by SS Sham Kaur Khalsa, La Paz, Bolivia 2024 (Third Quarter) As Sikhs, our active participation in interreligious dialogues around the world is nourished by the inclusive teachings of our faith. In 2023, I had the honor of experiencing this firsthand in Bolivia, where I joined as a Sikh Minister with representatives from various religious traditions to promote peace and mutual understanding. The interreligious dialogue in Bolivia brings together Catholics, Christians, Muslims, Jews, Zen Buddhists, Lutherans, Bahá’ís, and Sikhs. Although our Sikh community is relatively small in Bolivia, we share our commitment to equality and justice in this diverse forum.
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Ministering in Chile in This Time and Space
by SS Sat Sansar Singh Khalsa, Santiago, Chile 2024 (First Quarter) What does the word ‘Minister’ mean to you? Being a Minister is for me an identity that is shared with a lineage of women and men who through the ages have been an inspiration, through the testimony of their lives. To live the life of a Sikh includes actively supporting one’s community in this way of life. That identity manifests in many ways for me—in deep internal aspects and in actions in the sphere in which I participate. Externally it means for me to stand as a lighthouse, ever
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The 2023 Parliament of the World’s Religions in Chicago: a Deep Dive Into a Global Faith Community
by SS Shiva Singh Khalsa, Chicago, Illinois 2023 (Third Quarter) The 2023 Parliament of the World’s Religions was held August 14-18, 2023. This is the 4th Parliament we have attended. It is a week of presentations; plenaries by world-renowned faith and government luminaries; and most of all, amazing conversations with like-hearted people from every corner of the world. This is the 130th anniversary of the first Parliament in 1893, when the West got its first taste of non-Abrahamic faiths, held at the McCormick Lakeside Center in Chicago, USA. This week started with 1,000+ representatives of more than twenty diverse faith
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Coming Together in Faith
by SS Shiva Singh Khalsa, Chicago IL 2021 (Second Quarter) In 1992, we were informed of the planned Parliament of the World’s Religions (CPWR) event to take place in 1993 in Chicago. This event ultimately welcomed 7,000 people of all faiths, including the Dalai Lama, Akal Takhat Jethadar Manjit Singh, and hundreds of faith leaders and their devoted followers. (Editor’s Note: The Parliament of the World’s Religions is the oldest and largest interfaith gathering in the world, first held in Chicago in 1893.) Sadly, our community’s participation with the Sikh Host Committee was rejected by its leaders. The Siri Singh
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Seeing No Strangers
by SS Shiva Singh Khalsa, Chicago IL Winter 2019 Being a history buff, I was interested to watch the new documentary, Woodstock: Three Days that Defined a Generation, about the 1969 festival of peace, cooperation, and friendship. What was missing from the event was leadership and a consistent mission. Seeing this reminded me of Yogiji’s lecture, “From Woodstock to Steel-stock.” Post-Woodstock, many of us came to the feet of the Guru, to Sikh Dharma, and to the lifestyle teachings of Yogi Bhajan. Every lesson of our Gurus has given me the tools and spiritual infrastructure to step up. Guru Amar
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World Parliament of Religions
Gratitude and joy were constant and faithful companions during my recent visit to the 2015 Parliament of World Religions that took place in Salt Lake City, Utah, from October 15 – 19. The gratitude and joy that filled me was for the remembered blessing of being able to call myself a Sikh of the Guru; that as a Sikh, I was from a dharma—a way of life—where serving food to people (which the Sikhs did every day of this parliament) was as natural as breathing. I felt grateful that the truth of that resonated deep within the core of my
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NY Interfaith Walk Draws on Diversity
New York is a culturally diverse place colored with an amazing collection of very alive cultural centers and religious communities. My husband and I live in Park Slope, Brooklyn, where it is an odd church that has not been converted to a condominium or health club. However, in Queens, NY, you can drive through the neighborhood and feel the presence of a vast colorful diversity of religious centers and spiritual groups that serve the Queens community that have maintained their cultural values. On Sunday, October 18, 2015, SS Siri Vishnu and I were invited to share in the Flushing 7th
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