500 volunteers from Mile Hi Church and the Colorado Sikh community will serve a Langar (free Indian meal) to more than 3,000 hungry and homeless in Civic Center Park, Denver, Colorado from 11am to 2pm on Saturday, November 19, 2016.
Rev. Shannon O’Hurley, Interfaith/Multicultural (I AM) Minister at Mile Hi Church, and Dilpreet Jammu, President of Colorado Sikhs (both pictured below), have been working together for more than a year to plan and bring their communities together to help those in need.
The langar is in collaboration with the Colorado Singh Sabha, Guru Ghar Colorado Springs and South End Gurdwara.
The Sikhs have a long-standing tradition of a Langar, a free Indian meal served to the hungry and homeless. In fact, the Sikh community around the world serves 6.5 million Langar meals every day. While many are familiar with a Langar in India, it is new to many people in the metro area, which is why this partnership is so special.
“Both of us had a shared mission to help those in need. But, our communities are also yearning to break down the invisible barriers that keep our communities isolated and fling open the door to becoming friends,” said Rev. Shannon. “The Langar, (a Punjabi word that rhymes with hunger), in Civic Center Park is another culmination of that shared dream.”
"Interfaith Alliance of Colorado is a multi faith organization working for human rights and equality in the state of Colorado. The needs of the homeless are one of our core focuses and we are delighted to support Mile Hi Church and the Sikh community in any way we can,” said Rev. Amanda Henderson, Executive Director.
Naureen Singh, President and Founder of the Sikh Student organization at the University of Colorado in Boulder echoed these sentiments; “I know that the future is bright for coming together and seeing each other as fellow Americans.”
“Sometimes people get stuck in the illusion of differences, but we have a lot more in common than we realize,” shared Dilpreet. “As people from different faiths and cultures talk and discover they have shared values in helping others, really, every fear and doubt falls away.”
Rev. Shannon also shared some final remarks. “Interfaith has been my passion for more than 20 years and I’m thrilled to find a partner like Dilpreet. We are all stronger together than apart.”
