Sunday afternoon, April 3, 2011 was closer to hellish than heavenly. I don't think I was more nervous before my wedding day. "Why is that?", you say. Thanks very much for asking. You're so polite and such a good listener.
I had been busily involved for the prior month in arranging for a group of Sikhs from one of the gurdwaras (Temple, place of worship) in Abbotsford to attend neXus. The motivation was twofold.
My first reason for this was because such activity is consistent with our values (the colours I talked about in my previous post) of inclusiveness, cultural engagement, and our belief that God and the truth of the Gospel are actively revealed through all of God’s creation; everything and everywhere.
And secondly, it was a means of cooperating with our city's goal of breaking down the "silos" that surround the many racial, ethnic, religious, and cultural groups of cosmopolitan Abbotsford.
The Friday before THE Sunday, I met with a young woman named Med Manzanal, Abbotsford's diversity coordinator, and three representatives of the Gur Sikh Temple: Mr. Hundal, the president of the Temple executive; Satwinder Bains, a prominent woman in town and chair of the Indo-Canadian Studies Programme at our local university; and Jasbir Singh, a teacher in the Abbotsford School District who has been my opposite number in terms of getting this initiative together.
We discussed what the service would look like, and what level of involvement there would be by the Sikhs themselves. In the course of the conversation Mr. Hundal, who is approximately my age, admitted that he had never been in a Christian church. I hastened to reply that I had never been in a Sikh Temple, although I had visited their elementary school. I'll admit that it was hard to judge his enthusiasm for the project, although Satwinder and Jasbir (or Jas, like jazz, as we call him) were clearly keen.
At any rate, I arrived good and early at the rented facility we use for our Sunday night services. People were setting up round tables, dressing them up with tablecloths and daffodils, and getting the food and beverage service ready. I continued to pace, wondering if the regulars would be eating a mountain of goodies all by ourselves.
And then a trickle of guests showed up--Jas and his family, including his spouse, daughters, and parents. The girls had brought along a couple of their friends. Med was there, putting out information on Abbotsford's diversity initiative.
The trickle became a bit of a stream--a few older Sikh gentlemen in their characteristic turbans, members of the Temple executive. Then as we neared the starting time, the flood began. Guests poured in. We were rolling out additional tables. Preet Rai, my colleague on the Abbotsford School Board arrived (all 6'5" of him) with his lovely wife Rupinder, and his father, a retired Indian army colonel with his back still ramrod straight.
We even had a few community members we hadn't known were coming: our local MLA John vanDongen, the federal liberal candidate, the former executive director of Canadian Food for the Hungry. Soon 150 people packed a space typically occupied by 50.
Now I was nervous for another reason--how would the service go over with people largely born in India and some with very little English. As Preet told me after, it was "brilliant." Jas helped with with simultaneous translation of my welcoming remarks. Our worship coordinator, Chris Janzen, sang Ron Sexsmith's God Loves Everyone with the words on a screen.
One of our teachers, Randall (Peg) Peters, talked with Jas about our respective faiths. He did this by asking Jas, "What are your dreams for your daughters?" Jas teared up a bit. The first thing he said in response was, "That they would love God." At the end, Peg and Jas hugged each other. That memory will go with me to heaven.
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Some quotes from those in attendance:
“Tonight is about embracing two cultures as one and about accepting diversity, openness, truth, and honesty,” said Jasbir Singh, representative from the Khalsa Diwan Society. “It’s been overlooked that these two cultures actually have a lot in common. Today’s Nexus service reminds us about being present in the moment, about extending acceptance and that is why this initiative is so great.”
In a letter of thanks, Kabal Hundal, Khalsa Diwan Sociey President stated, “Everyone really enjoyed themselves watching the presentations and interacting with the community. We also took great pleasure in the variety of delicious food made available. It was a very rewarding event and we learned a lot about bringing all the nationalities together for a bright future.”
“It’s great to see our Sikh neighbors and Nexus members eating together, talking together, and praying together,” said Heather Peters, Nexus Church member. “It’s amazing to be a part of something that is truly in the spirit of bridging the cultural divide.”
To see a few interviews with people who attended the service, go to YouTube at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lJ-5QUuAPCM.
I had been busily involved for the prior month in arranging for a group of Sikhs from one of the gurdwaras (Temple, place of worship) in Abbotsford to attend neXus. The motivation was twofold.
My first reason for this was because such activity is consistent with our values (the colours I talked about in my previous post) of inclusiveness, cultural engagement, and our belief that God and the truth of the Gospel are actively revealed through all of God’s creation; everything and everywhere.
And secondly, it was a means of cooperating with our city's goal of breaking down the "silos" that surround the many racial, ethnic, religious, and cultural groups of cosmopolitan Abbotsford.
We discussed what the service would look like, and what level of involvement there would be by the Sikhs themselves. In the course of the conversation Mr. Hundal, who is approximately my age, admitted that he had never been in a Christian church. I hastened to reply that I had never been in a Sikh Temple, although I had visited their elementary school. I'll admit that it was hard to judge his enthusiasm for the project, although Satwinder and Jasbir (or Jas, like jazz, as we call him) were clearly keen.
At any rate, I arrived good and early at the rented facility we use for our Sunday night services. People were setting up round tables, dressing them up with tablecloths and daffodils, and getting the food and beverage service ready. I continued to pace, wondering if the regulars would be eating a mountain of goodies all by ourselves.
And then a trickle of guests showed up--Jas and his family, including his spouse, daughters, and parents. The girls had brought along a couple of their friends. Med was there, putting out information on Abbotsford's diversity initiative.
The trickle became a bit of a stream--a few older Sikh gentlemen in their characteristic turbans, members of the Temple executive. Then as we neared the starting time, the flood began. Guests poured in. We were rolling out additional tables. Preet Rai, my colleague on the Abbotsford School Board arrived (all 6'5" of him) with his lovely wife Rupinder, and his father, a retired Indian army colonel with his back still ramrod straight.
Now I was nervous for another reason--how would the service go over with people largely born in India and some with very little English. As Preet told me after, it was "brilliant." Jas helped with with simultaneous translation of my welcoming remarks. Our worship coordinator, Chris Janzen, sang Ron Sexsmith's God Loves Everyone with the words on a screen.
One of our teachers, Randall (Peg) Peters, talked with Jas about our respective faiths. He did this by asking Jas, "What are your dreams for your daughters?" Jas teared up a bit. The first thing he said in response was, "That they would love God." At the end, Peg and Jas hugged each other. That memory will go with me to heaven.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Some quotes from those in attendance:
“Tonight is about embracing two cultures as one and about accepting diversity, openness, truth, and honesty,” said Jasbir Singh, representative from the Khalsa Diwan Society. “It’s been overlooked that these two cultures actually have a lot in common. Today’s Nexus service reminds us about being present in the moment, about extending acceptance and that is why this initiative is so great.”
In a letter of thanks, Kabal Hundal, Khalsa Diwan Sociey President stated, “Everyone really enjoyed themselves watching the presentations and interacting with the community. We also took great pleasure in the variety of delicious food made available. It was a very rewarding event and we learned a lot about bringing all the nationalities together for a bright future.”
“It’s great to see our Sikh neighbors and Nexus members eating together, talking together, and praying together,” said Heather Peters, Nexus Church member. “It’s amazing to be a part of something that is truly in the spirit of bridging the cultural divide.”
To see a few interviews with people who attended the service, go to YouTube at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lJ-5QUuAPCM.
Such great pictures! Thanks so much for sharing this. It was such an amazing service and I am so thankful for all the work you put into organizing it!
ReplyDeleteThat service was AMAZING! Very moving, very inspiring. Thanks for making it happen.
ReplyDelete