Philadelphia: Kavneet Singh representing the American Sikh Council (ASC) participated in an interfaith event as part of the ‘Religious Leaders Council’ held by the ‘Interfaith Philadelphia’ (ICGP) hosted by the representatives of the Catholic Diocese at the main headquarters in Philadelphia on Feb 13, 2023.

 The ICGP has a very active group of interfaith participants who meet regularly for meetings but also informally. It is also one of the larger interfaith organizations in the country which is active not only in the City of Philadelphia but also the outer suburbs of the tristate area. Over forty representatives from the Sikh, Jewish, Muslim and Christian including various denominations were present.

 Rev Robert Collier representing the ’57 Blocks Strategy’ spoke passionately on the issue of violence in neighborhoods of Philadelphia and impressing upon the faith leaders to help support the de-escalation of guns, as eventually it could spread outward to the suburbs, negatively impacting many more.

 Adam Garber brought to the fore the crisis of gun violence and how impacts all of us, but when we work together, our collective power is meaningful. In Pennsylvania alone there have been 1,600 Pennsylvanians die from gun violence every year and 3,000 more are injured. Black Pennsylvanians are 21 times more likely to die by gun violence. Pennsylvania also averages a mass shooting every ten days and 54% of the domestic violence victims died of gun violence. This is only a sampling of one state and should be a wakeup call for all people of faiths to raise their voice and rein in the senseless violence due to guns by supporting sensible gun control laws.

 Kavneet Singh in conversation with members of the Buddhist, Christian and Jewish representatives.

 Kavneet Singh shared his views regarding the importance of empathy, respect and understanding in expanding interfaith. He elaborated how he continues to make a conscious effort to reach out to strangers in order to practice what his faith teaches.

 Representatives from the American Sikh Council (ASC) have been actively participating in the interfaith meetings and many outreach events in conjunction with the Interfaith Philadelphia for over 18 years.

 The American Sikh Council is the umbrella organization representative of Sikhs in the United States. It is an elected body of Sikh Gurdwaras and institutions. Currently 74 Gurdwaras and other Sikh institutions across the nation are members of ASC. The major governing purpose of the organization is to represent the collective view of Sikhs in the United States. ASC works to promote Sikh interests at the national and international level focusing on issues of advocacy, education, and well-being of humankind