On the bright summer afternoon of August 1, 2010, the
Sikh Educational Welfare Association (SEWA Inc.) had their regular Sunday
worship service (diwan) at their Sikh Temple (gurdwara sahib) located on a
beautiful 5 acre campus, minutes from the heart of historic downtown Roswell.
This Sunday, they were having a celebration for the inauguration of the long
awaited new kitchen.
SEWA has been holding diwans for the past 8 years:
Friday evenings (7:30pm – 9:30pm) and Sunday mornings (11am – 2pm). After diwan,
attendees are served langar, a full meal from a free community kitchen.
Langar is a tradition of Sikh religion established by Sikhism’s founder
Guru Nanak dev ji. It is designed to uphold the principle of equality between
all people of the world regardless of religion, caste, color, creed, age, gender
or social status. In addition, it expresses the ethics of sharing, community,
inclusiveness and oneness of all humankind. Everyone sits on the floor, as
equals, to share and enjoy simple food together, and no one is turned away.
Over the past 8 years, the SEWA has served approximately 100,000 meals
(over 200 meals a week). In addition to meals at the temple, SEWA has undertaken
many ‘Feed the Hungry’ programs where hundreds of meals have been prepared and
taken to feed the less fortunate living in downtown shelters. Volunteers have
used makeshift camp stoves and temporary shelters to keep up with this Sikh
tradition through rain, heat and the cold of winter. Pretty amazing, when you
consider that they did not have a permanent kitchen—until today.
All are
invited and welcome to visit during the weekly services at 10590 Woodstock Road,
Roswell, GA 30075. For additional information, please see http://www.SewaGeorgia.org or
contact the Chair of SEWA’s Public Relations & Community Services Committee,
Mr. Rattan Bhavinani, at sewageorgia@gmail.com.