The schedule of events opened with “Strangers Among Us,” a talk developed for non-Sikh audiences in order to provide an introductory overview of the basics of Sikh history and beliefs. More than 40 people gathered at Namaste Indian Cuisine for the talk and an open question and answer session that followed. Attendees represented the local interfaith community, law enforcement officers, and some civic employees.“I had minimal knowledge of the Sikh culture prior today, and now feel more informed,” said Jennifer Musser, from Portland. “I feel I will be able to apply my newly gained knowledge to help inform others. I hope I can make a difference to prevent bias and intolerance.”

The next morning at Guru Ramdass Gurdwara Sahib in Vancouver, Washington, young people came out for“Sikh Teenagers in America,” a popular youth workshop which confronts the challenges of maintaining a Sikh identity while navigating the trials and changes that face any adolescent. “This was an excellent program that really spoke to me as a young Sikh woman,” said Ambica Teja.“I appreciated the calls to action and the emphasis one quality.” Later that afternoon, a second session was held at Guru Ramdass Gurdwara Sahib: “Inspiring Gurmat in You.” Devinder Kaur commented afterwards: “This cleared some of my confusions and taught me how to develop as a role model for my kids and family by connecting with my Guru through Guru Granth Sahib Ji.”

The weekend concluded with a trip south to Salem, Oregon, where Harinder Singh spoke at Dasmesh Darbar Gurdwara Sahib. He addressed the anniversary of the Battle of Amritsar in June 1984 in his talk “Contextualizing 1984.”

Pawneet Singh, organizer for this series of events, expressed his excitement at the reaction to the presentations: “The goal of bringing SikhRI to Oregon was to show the sangat here something fresh,to invigorate them with a passion to learn more on their own and to feel like they were given the tools to think about Sikhi—not that they were lectured for an hour and left feeling no different.” More regular programming in the Pacific Northwest has been requested by attendees at these events. As SikhRI expands the number of trained presenters a west coast facilitator is high on the list.

Contact Person: Manroop Kaur

info@SikhRI.org | +1-410-402-3709