From a Buddhist temple in Tynehead to university campus in Newton, Surrey Interfaith Pilgrimage will travel 16 kilometres through the city this Sunday (Feb. 3).
The fifth annual journey starts at the Thien Ton temple (17192 96th Ave.) at 9:30 a.m. and winds its way across Surrey, stopping at diverse houses of worship along the way.
The pilgrimage will conclude at KPU’s Surrey Campus (12666 72nd Ave.) at around 5:30 p.m., with an address by the institution’s Elder-in-Residence, Lekeyten, and closing ceremony.
Participants are welcome to join or leave the pilgrimage at any point along the way, and “must be self-sufficient for all additional food, water and transportation,” event organizers say.
“The event is free and all are welcome.”
• RELATED: VIDEO: People ‘learn to be neighbours’ at Surrey Interfaith Pilgrimage, from 2018.
The pilgrimage is said to attract people who “want to be directly involved in building bridges of trust and understanding across lines of cultural and religious difference. It also attracts people that are simply curious or that want to meet new people and see interesting places in the community.”
This year’s event is organized by Ethan Vanderleek and Connie Waterman, who hope the pilgrimage “sends out a declaration of peace, understanding, and co-operation. Instead of walking in fear and division, we choose to walk a path of peace and unity. An emphasis of this year’s pilgrimage is ‘neighbourliness.’”
Lunch will be served by Gurdwara Brookside (8365 140th St., southeast of Bear Creek Park) at approximately 12:45 p.m. Other stops include Fleetwood Christian Reformed Church, Northwood United Church, Laxmi Narayan Mandir, Canadian Singh Sabha Gurdwara and Surrey Jamea Masjid. Route details are posted on the event’s Facebook page.
This event is organized by volunteers through the Surrey Interfaith Council, KPU Multi-Faith Centre, and the Bahá’í Community of Surrey, as part of the United Nations’ World Interfaith Harmony Week. Details about the pilgrimage and related events are posted at surreyinterfaith.ca.
tom.zillich@surreynowleader.com
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