Simran and path
Quiet remembrance and readings, held at a pace that newcomers can follow.
Our purposes
Five things this society exists to do.
These are the purposes the society was registered to carry out. Some are running now and some are being built. We say which is which rather than letting you guess.
Stream One
Prayer, path and kirtan
Gatherings for simran, for path and for kirtan. We do not have a building of our own, so each gathering is held at a venue we arrange and announce with the date.
Kirtan
Sung scripture. Musicians at any level are welcome to sit in rather than only listen.
Announced in advance
Dates and venues go on the events page as soon as they are fixed, never before.
No building of our own
We arrange a hall for each gathering. That keeps our costs honest and our focus on the sangat.
Everyone is welcome, whatever your faith. Heads are covered and shoes are removed in the presence of Guru Granth Sahib. We keep clean scarves at the door, so please do not stay away because you did not bring one.
Stream Two
Learning about Sikhi
Seminars, workshops and talks on Sikh history, teachings and values, for people inside the community and for anybody outside it who is curious.
History and teachings
Where the Gurus' teachings came from, what they say, and why they still matter.
Question sessions
Bring anything. The turban, the kirpan, the five Ks, the langar. No question is treated as rude.
For young people
Sessions pitched at children and teenagers growing up between two cultures.
Materials to take away
We are building a set of plain English resources so nobody has to rely on memory.
Stream Three
Punjabi language, music and the arts
Keeping Punjabi alive in children who are growing up in English, and passing on the music and the traditional arts that carry the culture with it.
Punjabi reading and writing
Gurmukhi from the beginning, for children and for adults who never learned it.
Kirtan and instruments
Harmonium, tabla and voice, taught for the sangat rather than for performance.
Traditional arts
The crafts, the poetry and the forms that came here with our families.
Elders teaching
The people who carry this best are already in our community. We are asking them first.
These programmes are being built now. We will put dates on the events page as each one is ready, and we would rather say nothing than announce a class we cannot yet deliver.
Stream Four
Langar and community support
Free food, cooked and shared with whoever comes, and practical help for people in Abbotsford who are having a hard month. Langar is not charity given downwards. Everybody sits and eats the same thing.
Langar
Cooked and served at the venue, open to anybody who walks in, with no questions asked.
Grocery hampers
Sealed staples packed to a fixed list, so every household gets the same.
A hand with the paperwork
Someone to read a letter through with you in Punjabi or English and point you to the right office.
Delivery where needed
For people who cannot get to the hall, we bring it to them.
Food served to the public in British Columbia needs an operating permit or written approval from the local health authority. We obtain that approval from Fraser Health before any event where we prepare or serve food, and where it is simpler we order prepared food from a licensed kitchen instead.
Stream Five
Interfaith and public outreach
A lot of what people think they know about Sikhs is wrong, and most of the time nobody has had the chance to ask. We go to schools, community groups and other faith congregations and we answer honestly.
Visits and talks
Invite us to your school, workplace or congregation and we will come and speak.
Correcting misconceptions
Turbans, articles of faith, the difference between Sikhi and other traditions. Calmly, and with evidence.
Shared meals
The fastest way past a misconception is usually a plate of food and an hour of conversation.
Working with others
We are glad to lend hands to other groups' events without needing our name on the poster.
If one of these is your kind of thing
Tell us which one. We would rather put you where you actually want to be than add you to a general list.