Interfaith Langar in Phoenix

This is an inspiring article from our local paper about our Interfaith Langar Event we have every year in Phoenix.  Article from the AZ Republic:

“The power of breaking bread as a way to break down barriers will be demonstrated when a 500-year-old tradition is repeated outdoors at Phoenix’s Historic Heritage Square on Thursday.
People from more than 20 religions are expected to sit on the floor and dine together as the Arizona Interfaith Movement and the Sikh community team to stage the sixth annual Experience Interfaith gathering.
“This is an opportunity for people of different faiths to come to a relationship with each other so we are not strangers to each other,” said Paul Eppinger, executive director of the movement.
“In a community like Phoenix, there are people in every neighborhood from every faith and culture.”
The evening will center on a Langar, a traditional meal following a Sikh religious service.
About five centuries ago, when the religion was launched in India, it took aim at the caste system. A free meal was served after each worship service, with participants taking off their shoes and sitting on the floor, with no division between classes.
“The idea is that we want to move from group (or class) consciousness to universal consciousness,” said Soul Singh Khalsa, a minister at a Sikh temple in central Phoenix.
“With the Langar, you don’t know who will be sitting next to you, which is the beauty of it. That, for a lot of people, is a very different experience.  . . . They start to see that there is a Bahái here, a Mormon there, a Hindu there, Buddhist there.
“So you have a unique experience with a unique group of people. You combine it with food, which you can never miss with.”

Khalsa said the vegetarian menu will include a Saag dish, or creamed spinach, rice and yogurt entrees, a potato-and-chili dish and Naan.
“It will be a very tasty experience,” said Khalsa, 60, an American who adopted the Sikh faith 45 years ago.
Eppinger said he is especially looking forward to the second half of the program, in which diners will break into groups of six after the meal.
“We will discuss questions – we don’t talk about grandkids or whether ASU will have a good season,” he said.
“We will give specific questions, and individuals will have the opportunity to hear words from people of all different faiths . . . to hear a Hindu say, ‘From my faith, this is what we believe,’ or the Buddhist, ‘This is what we believe.’ “
Eppinger, 78, who founded the interfaith movement 16 years ago, added, “There is no proselytizing, no trying to convert one another. There’s no criticizing, but simply trying to share with each other and learn from each other.”
Eppinger, who formerly led the Arizona Ecumenical Council, a Christian group, said he feels the Langar gains importance each year as technological advances make the world seem smaller and smaller.
“In our globalized world, with communication so immediate, you can pick up your cellphone and talk to somebody in Saudi Arabia or Africa in seconds. Or you can jump on a plane and be in another nation in a couple of hours,” he said.
“In that type of world, it’s extremely important for us to begin to understand and respect each other from our faith traditions.”
The final selling point of the event is that all the good food and stimulating conversation is served up in what Khalsa calls an oasis in the middle of Phoenix.
“Heritage Square this time of year is just great,” he said. “You look up through the wood beams, and you see the stars above.
“You’re in downtown Phoenix, but you’re also in a magical world.”

- by Larry Rodgers, the Arizona Republic.  Link to article here