Meeting with the Inter-Faith Council, Seattle

On 7th August ’07, a few saints from Eastern Washington sat in on a meeting organized by the Interfaith Council of Seattle (www.interfaithcouncil.com). The council was founded about 20 years ago and is an influential body that organizes and supports interfaith activities around the Washington region. The primary purpose of the two hour meeting was to discuss activities from the last year and plan for the next. The meeting was attended by 13 people from diverse faith backgrounds such as Judaism, Baha’i, Vedantic, Christian, Islamic, etc. Our primary intention of attending this meeting was threefold:

1. To learn about the council: A great deal was learned and noted about the various interfaith activities and groups involved in the region. Meeting with representatives from these groups proved to be a good networking opportunity as contacts were exchanged. Several upcoming events and dates were noted as potential opportunities for future involvement.

2. To represent the Mission: The ideology of the Mission was introduced to them and they were shown that the goals of the Sant Nirankari Mission align well with theirs. The council has a partner program by which various communities can post their events on the council’s website. They not only welcomed the idea of partnership, but also offered positions on their guiding committee to drive activities for the next year. Although no such commitment was made, the potential of active involvement in the council could be beneficial in the future.

3. To explore future possibilities: The Interfaith Council holds is meetings in the Interfaith Community Church (http://www.scn.org). This church holds weekly topic based congregations and several other activities that seem very similar to those organized by the Mission. A trip is currently being planned to this church. The potential in leveraging the Microsoft community, which involves a large part of the Eastern Washington population, was also discussed.

It is only with the guidance of those who have instigated Nirankari congregations all over the country can Satguru’s message of love and unity be brought to this region’s communities.

With your blessings,

Seattle Youth