People

Bhai Mohinder Singh Honoured For Nishkam Seva

NEWS REPORT

History was made in the Catholic Church during a special Mass and Investiture at Metropolitan Cathedral and Basilica of St Chad, Birmingham, of Dr Bhai Mohinder Singh as Knight of the Pontifical Order of Pope St Gregory the Great, on Sunday, 22 April, 2012.

The Most Reverend Bernard Longley, Archbishop of Birmingham, invested the internationally known and respected Chairman of Guru Nanak Nishkam Sewak Jatha, based in the Handsworth area of Birmingham, with one of the highest Papal Awards.

The Order of St Gregory is normally bestowed on Catholics but in rare cases it is also conferred on non-Catholics in recognition of meritorious service to the Catholic Church and the exceptional example they have set in their communities and country.

More than 120 Sikhs, from Birmingham, London, Leeds, and some who had flown from Kenya and India were present in St Chad’s Cathedral for this unique and ground-breaking event in inter-faith relations involving the Catholic Church and the Sikh faith.

During the Rite of Investiture, which took place immediately after the homily, Bhai Sahib was escorted by S. Sewa Singh.

Canon Gerry Breen, Dean of St Chad’s Cathedral, read out the Papal Brief of “Benedict XVI Supreme Pontiff”, given at St Peter’s in Rome, signed and sealed by the Cardinal Secretary of State, Cardinal Bertone.

Archbishop Bernard Longley invested the knight elect In the name of the "Holy Father" with the insignia of a Knight of the Pontifical Order of St Gregory the Great, pinning the Cross to the left breast of Bhai Sahib and presenting him with his framed Papal Brief. The Archbishop also presented Bhai Sahibi with the sword of the Pontifical Order of St Gregory the Great.

During the same ceremony, a second personage was also similarly honoured. Mr Bill Ozanne, who has worked in the area of inter-religious dialogue locally, nationally and internationally for many years as a member of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales Committee for Other Faiths, has recently been appointed by Archbishop Longley as Chairman of the Archdiocese of Birmingham Commission for Interreligious Dialogue.

In his homily Archbishop Bernard Longley said: “This is a truly joyful day for it witnesses a moment of recognition and gratitude on the part of the Catholic Church for the dedication of two men of faith for whom our city of Birmingham is their home and the base for their work. This is also a unique and historical moment in the life of this Cathedral and in the experience of the Catholic Church in England and Wales and perhaps further afield.

“It is very fitting that Bhai Dr Mohinder Singh and Mr Bill Ozanne are receiving Papal Knighthoods from His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI on the same occasion and in the same ceremony of investiture. Over a friendship of many years they have discovered not only within each other, but also within the faith traditions that they represent, an openness to dialogue and a desire to deepen understanding and co-operation for the common good.

“They have both personally committed considerable time and energy to the goals of interfaith understanding and of common witness to shared values. But they have also encouraged and enabled the Sikh and Christian traditions to make progress along the pathway from mutual respect towards the deeper insights that friendship brings. They have prompted us to work more closely together in service of others.”

The Archbishop continued: “I believe that it is the first time that a Papal Honour has been bestowed in this way on a spiritual leader from within the Sikh community. It represents the Holy Father’s recognition of Bhai Sahib’s deeply held desire for fruitful and lasting relations between Sikhs and Catholics and opportunities to witness together.

“We recall Bhai Sahib’s presence in Assisi for the international meetings of faith leaders at the invitation of Blessed Pope John Paul II and of Pope Benedict - and I am sure that he will long remember being present with S. Sewa Singh ji in St Peter’s Square at the funeral of Blessed John Paul II during April 2005.”

Archbishop Bernard Longley stressed: “Nothing could have given greater pleasure to Mr Bill Ozanne than to be receiving this Papal Knighthood alongside Bhai Sahib, for this moment becomes symbolic of Bill’s own vision for interfaith dialogue and witnesses to his long commitment to this important work of the Church.”

Archbishop Bernard Longley concluded his homily: “The faith communities in this city are often among the first to recognise emerging social needs within our local communities. We want to develop effective partnerships among ourselves and with other agencies wherever appropriate to help meet these needs. May today’s celebration encourage us to continue along the pathway of this commitment not only for the good of our own faith communities but for the common good.”

At the sign of peace Archbishop Longley warmly greeted the two new Papal Knights and members of the families, his two co-Presidents of the Birmingham Faith Leaders Group, the Right Reverend David Urquhart, Anglican Bishop of Birmingham, and Major Samuel Edgar, Divisional Commander, Salvation Army, West Midlands.

St Chad’s Cathedral looked at its magnificent best and the Cathedral Choir, under its Director of Music, Professor David Saint, added to the splendour of an historic and memorable occasion with a wonderful rendering of the Franz Schubert Mass in G major. The great Pugin masterpiece was filled with echoes of joyful sound.

After the final hymn, members of the Sikh community sang a shabad - a Sikh hymn of praise - accompanied by two musicians playing traditional musical instruments. It was a deeply moving experience and in complete contrast to the ritual and ceremony of the Mass and Investiture.

S. Sewa Singh then spoke on behalf of the Sikh community. At the lectern with the lighted 2012 Pascal Candle burning brightly beside him, he concluded: “Our two faiths respect each other. We pray that the relationship between us will grow and flourish.”

* * * * *

Dr Bhai Mohinder Singh is chairman of the Nishkam Civic Association, based in Birmingham, and is a trustee of the World Conference of Religions for Peace.

Nishkam - which literally means "selfless service" - is a Sikh organisation based in England which was formed by Baba Puran Singh of Kericho in 1974. Their community projects span the whole of the globe with special projects taking place in Africa and India. This organisation also maintains various gurdwaras in the U.K., Kenya and India.

Bhai Mohinder Singh has been an informal minister of the Sikh faith for over three decades and has regularly been in the Punj Pyarey (for the purposes of Amrit Sanchar) and on many occasions he has taken the role of ‘jathedar’ of the Punj Pyarey. He has brought many Sikhs of all ages to the path of spiritual discipline by getting Amrit Sanchar ceremonies conducted regularly over the years.

He is chairman of the Guru Nanak Nishkam Sewak Jatha (GNNSJ), selected (in 1986) and appointed to this role by his predecessor, Bhai Norang Singh.

Bhai Sahib is a Civil and Structural Engineer by profession and has worked on projects in the U.K., Africa and India. Until 1989 he worked in Zambia for the National Housing Authority under the auspices of the British Government’s Overseas Development Administration providing expertise for the provision of low income housing, town-planning and infrastructure implementation.

Whilst in Zambia he assisted the fledgling Sikh communities in different parts of Africa in the construction of gurdwaras. Simultaneously, he made regular trips to the United Kingdom to participate in religious functions.

In 1989, he left Zambia in order to devote his life to full time service of the community under the personal supervision of Bhai Norang Singh. In recognition of his many unique qualities and inner spiritual strength, he was chosen to succeed to the chairmanship of this organization.

Under his stewardship, GNNSJ has expanded its charitable work in the U.K. and abroad. At the dawn of the new millennium, in the wake of natural disasters as well as human-made calamities, considerable energy has been devoted to initiating and contributing towards interfaith activities within a world where efforts to improve mutual understanding and promote global harmony and peace have become imperative, more so than ever before.

April 24, 2012

Conversation about this article Comment on "Bhai Mohinder Singh Honoured For Nishkam Seva" * Your Name



* Email



* City / Country



* Comments



To help us distinguish between comments submitted by individuals and those automatically entered by software robots, please complete the following. Submit Please note: your email address will not be shown on the site, this is for contact and follow-up purposes only. All information will be handled in accordance with our Privacy Policy. Sikhchic reserves the right to edit or remove content at any time.

read other articles in People