Newsletter THE FIRST 100 DAYS. 100 days of celebration and commemoration. Guru Nanak Darbar Gravesend

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1 Guru Nanak Darbar Gravesend Issue 1 Newsletter THE FIRST 100 DAYS 100 days of celebration and commemoration The first 100 days since the Sangat s election of Ajaib Singh Cheema as our Mukh Sewadar have seen the beginning of the new year and also marked significant events in our calendar. We celebrated the Parkash Gurpurbs (birth anniversaries) of the founders of Sikhi, Sri Guru Nanak Dev Ji (born 1469), and of the Khalsa Panth, Sri Guru Gobind Singh Ji (born 1666) that saw the annual Kavi Darbar come to Gravesend. We also commemorated the ultimate sacrifices made by the Chaar Sahibzaade (1705) in their Shaheedi Purab (martyrdom). We are hugely grateful to the sangat for attending and participating in these monumental occasions with blessings of Guru Maharaj. Thousands from local and national sangat also attended New Year s celebrations. The fireworks display on New Year s Eve had been a topic of discussion for some time, the decision to hold the fireworks display was made on the understanding that cost would be covered by Sewadars and not the Gurdwara. Funding exceeded the target amount and will be invested in future Gurdwara events.

2 Guru Nanak Darbar Gravesend Newsletter What will you do for the youth? Storytime for Children To help younger members of our Sangat connect with the Gurpurb programmes, a weekly Storytime session was launched, initially focusing on the Shaheedi of the Chaar Sahibzaade and the life of Guru Gobind Singh Ji. There was a great turnout for the first ever session and participation has been growing week on week. The sessions include story time, Sikhi basics followed by arts and crafts. Parents found this a perfect way to increase youth engagement and create an exciting atmosphere SIKHI CAMP is a great way to introduce the younger members of the sangat to all the facilities and learnings available at the Gurdwara. The 1-day camp has a variety of activities in Sikhi basics, lectures, quizzes, Kirtan, Naam Simran, Gatka, MMA and Football served up with pizza, chips and ice cream. Everything a child could ask for in a fun packed day! The camp split into two groups based on age to ensure the activities were motivating and appropriate for learning and development. The success of the winter camp will spur on a spring camp later this year. for them to learn about Sikhi. One parent took her seven and four year old daughters who both found the stories fascinating and spent the rest of the week reciting them to her. It was very interesting feedback from one enthusiastic Super Kaur (Age 7) Storytime is held in the Library every Sunday from 17:30 to 19:00. Regular Katha in English Over the past 3 months has been a growing success with the sangat. For many, hearing Kathakars (religious storytellers) such as Saroop Singh was the first time they truly appreciated the value of Katha. Varying levels of Punjabi often mean the lessons shared by Kathakars are not fully grasped by all. Katha in English is a fantastic way to reach and engage with sangat of all ages. One parent said: I had originally thought this would be a great way to introduce Katha to my children, however I was pleasantly surprised at how Saroop Singh was able to engage with all ages of the sangat and have everyone joining in the Naam Simran. This Katha is a great way to bring the sangat together and to have talking points to share and enhance our lives. The Guru Ghar is continuing to host Katha in English on a monthly basis. Look out for future youth events, Sikhi camps and English Katha announcements on our Facebook page and the screens in the Gurdwara foyer. Sikhi for all On a national level, the Guru Ghar has been supporting several campaigns held in high regard by not only the local Sangat but also Sikhs nationally and internationally. Chaupai Sahib Jaap, Ardaas and meetings with local MP Adam Holloway took place in support of the #FreeJaggiNow campaign. The Gurdwara is continuing to place additional pressure on parliamentary representatives through its interactions with the All Party Parliamentary Group for British Sikhs chaired by MP Preet Kaur Gill. We request that the Sangat continue to support the campaign as Jagtar Singh Johal remains in custody without charges. The Gurdwara is also actively participating in the Census 2021 campaign for a separate Sikh Ethnicity tick box; discussions are still underway with the ONS. Finally, we are extremely grateful for the very generous support of the Sangat for the Help Refugees collection. We were inundated with donations and the final intake was safely delivered to the Help Refugees charity. From the corners of the building The Sangat will be aware of the works that have taken place at the Guru Ghar over the past years. Full and thorough independent audits have taken place to determine the safety and quality level of the completed works. Some areas will need to be revisited due to compliance failures, such as the fountains and Bhai Gurdas Ji diwan hall roof, the Sangat will be kept fully informed of what this involves. Most urgent is the Fire Risk Assessment the Guru Ghar must pass in February. We would be grateful for the Sangat s cooperation in this. Several concerns have been raised by Sangat members regarding parking in the Gurdwara carparks. It is our humble request that disabled parking bays be occupied by blue badge holders only, that we respect the double yellow line markings and that commuters please not take advantage of the Gurdwara facilities. The security of the Guru Ghar is under close review and the Sangat is asked to be vigilant and cooperative with Sewadars whilst we work with the Sangat s safety, security and peace of mind at the forefront of all that we do. Community Engagement In the spirit of Sarbat da Bhala, it is important that the Gurdwara and the surrounding community live in harmony and friendship. New Year s Eve saw hundreds of local residents enjoying the fireworks alongside the Sangat, after the Kirtan and Ardaas, to welcome the New Year. Residents were kept fully informed through social media, local press and hand delivered letters to every household in the area. Engagement will be facilitated further through local open days later this year. Over coming weeks, there will be continued engagement with the planning for Vaisakhi and the annual Nagar Kirtan through the Town Centre. Sangat Wellbeing The Gurdwara will be supporting the Sangat to maintain and improve physical and mental health and wellbeing of all. We are planning to develop support and advice services in respect of issues such as legal matters, immigration, support for the homeless, mental and physical health issues, alcoholism, drug misuse and financial advice. A weekly surgery launched in January provides free legal advice on the second floor of the Gurdwara on Thursday evenings. February will see the opening of a Mother and Baby Feeding Room to enable mothers to feed young babies in decent and private facilities. Other services and events will be launching in the coming months. Competition Time You ll notice that the newsletter does not have a name, we d like your help with this please! Please send suggested names to comms@gurunanakdarbar. org by 1st March. The winner will be announced in the February-April issue and prizes will be on offer.

3 Guru Nanak Darbar Gravesend Newsletter Visiting Kathakars and Kirtan Jathas Our Guru Ghar was blessed by the attendance of numerous Kirtan Jathas in addition to Kathakars over the last few months. Kirtan and Katha are essential to the daily lives of Sikhs. In addition to the Katha of Basics of Sikhi, Hardeep Singh Khalsa and Giani Nirmaljit Singh Khalsa, several renowned Kirtani shared Gurbani Shabad with us, including Bhai Balwinder Singh Lopoke, Bhai Gurmeet Singh, Bhai Nirmal Singh Nagpuri Hazoori Ragi Sri Darbar Sahib and Bhai Tejinder Singh Khanne Wale. All of this in addition to the Guru Ghar Kirtanis and Kathakars that continue to inspire the sangat on a daily basis. With Waheguru s Finance Update The Deputy Mukh Sewadar is conducting a full review of our financial position in conjunction with our finance team. This will focus on the current loan, procurement processes, invoice payments and ways in which to save the sangat money through professional negotiation and more efficient ways of working. Issues have been identified around the 2015 loan renewal process. The most recent loan document was signed in August 2015 by Davinder Singh Bains and Parminder Singh Mand. The terms agreed were not to the benefit of our Guru Ghar and placed unnecessary financial penalties onto our sangat. This brings into sharp focus the requirement of a professionally qualified team when undertaking key tasks on behalf of our sangat. We will provide you with a separate and more detailed update on the loan position in the coming weeks as we are currently in the middle of detailed negotiations to rip up the deal signed in This is not an easy task as the signed loan documents committed the Guru Ghar to extremely unfavourable terms and were agreed without the required level of knowledge. We have said we will be fully transparent and keep the sangat updated and this is Women First kirpa, we will continue teaching and learning from Gurbani through engaging Kathakars and Kirtani. Bhai Bachittar Singh Hazoori Ragi Sri Darbar Sahib will be with the Sangat on Sunday 11th February for the Janam Divas (birthday) of Bhagat Ravidas Ji. a demonstration of that pledge. The core issues centre around loan margin, loan fees, early repayment charges and the use of the higher charges around libor rates. The newly appointed auditors have also identified a number of irregular payments which have not been recorded in the income or expenditure lines, namely cheques being cashed. To help further we have also produced a brief gift aid guide. We require all receipts to be fully completed and be legible so that we can claim the additional 25% from the UK government when making our declarations. This will not cost you any additional money so please ensure you provide all the necessary details. Overall, the new finance team has settled in well and are looking to implement more modern ways of working that will help our Sangat by making savings and maximising future income opportunities. To further build on the many successes in the first 100 days, for the first time in 5 years, annual accounts for year ending 31/03/2017 have been submitted to the Charity Commission on time. This was a huge task to take on, with a very limited amount of time given the correct processes to follow but it was made possible through teamwork, professionalism, hard work, sheer drive and determination. Upcoming events Sunday 4th February, 18:30 to 19:00 Talk by Sikh Awareness Society Bhai Gurdas Hall Friday 9th Sunday 11th February Janam Divas Bhagat Ravidas Ji Akhand Paath Sunday 11th February Bhai Bachittar Singh Hazoori Ragi Sri Darbar Sahib Sunday 18th February, 17:00 18:30 All Women s Meeting Lecture Theatre, First Floor Sunday 18th February, 18:30 19:30 Basics of Sikhi Katha Sunday 4th March, 14:00 16:00 International Women s Day Event Lecture Theatre, First Floor Friday 9th March Sunday 11th March Holla Mohalla Akhand Paath Friday 13th April Sunday 15th April Vaisakhi Akhand Paath Saturday 14th April Vaisakhi Nagar Kirtan Weekly Services Legal Advice Surgery: Every Thursday 18:30 20:00, Bridal room Second Floor Storytime: Every Sunday 17:30 19:30, Library, First Floor Maths support for GCSE: Every other Sunday starting 21st January 10:30 11:30, Board Room, First Floor 11+ Revision Classes: Every Sunday 09:00 10:30, Computer Room, First Floor Adult Punjabi classes: Every Sunday 14:00 15:00, Punjabi School, starting 4th February For more information on any of the events or initiatives discussed in this newsletter or to contribute to future newsletters please contact comms@gurunanakdarbar.org Mrs. Kalwant Kaur Gill was elected as the first woman Chair for GNG Sports Club in its 50-year history this year. As an active member of the Sikh community her whole life, she was humbled and honoured to have been elected to this role. Kalwant said: I want to encourage the mothers, the bibis and all the women within our Sikh family to join in the numerous activities within GNG. I want to support all the women within our community to achieve a more positive sense of self and am very proud to be in a position to be able to help others to achieve this. Read more from Kalwant on our Facebook page. To further support and encourage female members of the sangat to play a more active role in the running and future of the Gurdwara we are holding an All Women s Meeting in the Gurdwara Lecture Theatre on Sunday 18th February at 17:00. All women from Gravesend and surrounding areas are welcome. Following this meeting, the Gurdwara will also be hosting an event for International Women s Day on Sunday 4th March and we would appreciate your support in delivering this.

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