Setting up a Gurdwara is never easy task anywhere.
Religious worship at a garage required special permission from the zoning board.
The city has been lenient in enforcing the garage's variance after the zoning board granted it in April 2001. The board extended the variance in April 2002 even though it had expired Dec. 31, 2001. That extension expired at the end of 2002. There was a misunderstanding in application for extension of zoning permission,  City Building Inspector Cindy Cawley posted a notice on the garage September 22, 2004, saying worship services would no longer be allowed there. However, an extension was eventually granted after the misunderstanding was cleared.

The society owns a 14 acres property off Route 946 near Christian Springs Road in Lower Nazareth Township. A permanent Gurdwara is planned to be built on this property. A member of the society, Kultaran S. "Bobby" Hooghan said in September 2004 that all construction permits are in place and bids are being sought for the work. The society still has to arrange the project's financing.

A congregation calling itself Sikh Sadh Sangat Inc. has a year lease with the owners of 336 Bushkill St. At 10 a.m. each Sunday, the timber-frame building becomes a gurudwara, or Sikh temple. 

 The rest of the week, it's the Olde Mill Yoga & Wellness Center. Midi Johnson opened the business in December inside the building she owns with her husband, Don Johnson. The Easton couple offered space in the building through a Realtor who knew the Sikh Sadh Sangat was seeking a home. 

"We wanted to have a common place," Sikh Sadh Sangat member Avtar Singh said. "You don't own. I don't own." 

The group has met since January in various members' homes. Juspreet Kaur, who moved last month from Bethlehem to Walnutport, counts 90 to 100 families in the congregation. 

In Easton, not five miles from Tatamy, A to Z Automotive Repair Center Inc. continues to draw large crowds to Sunday services in another makeshift gurudwara. The garage's basement is home to the Guru Nanak Sikh Society of the Lehigh Valley. 

The society owns about 15 acres off Route 946 near Christian Springs Road in Lower Nazareth Township, where it plans to build a permanent gurudwara. Society member Sarwan Matharu said he expects to get approval for the construction permit Wednesday from the township board of supervisors. 

Construction would begin as soon as the permit is issued and last three to four months. The Guru Nanak Society members have been preparing to build the temple since 2001, when the Easton Zoning Hearing Board first granted a variance to allow religious worship in the auto repair shop. 

Matharu, whose son Gurshinder S. "Shinday" Matharu runs A to Z, declined to comment Sunday on the new gurudwara. Sarwan Matharu said 150 to 200 people attend services at the garage. The new temple will hold 250 to 400 people, he said. 

Kaur, from Sikh Sadh Sangat, said the congregation formed because the temple inside A to Z fills up very fast. Sikhs were turned away, she said, which is particularly frustrating for families interested in immersing their children in the religion. 

Outside of Easton and Tatamy, the closest gurudwaras are in Reading and Bridgewater, N.J. Over the past year, the region's Sikh population experienced a "growth spurt," Kaur said. She said she hopes Sikh Sadh Sangat can regroup with the Guru Nanak Society once the new temple is built. 

Organizers of the new congregation, however, cite differences with the older group. For example, officer elections will be held every two years in the new congregation, Avtar Singh said. He said the Guru Nanak Society is more closed, awarding lifetime leadership roles to members. 

Among the worshippers Sunday in Tatamy were the congregation's president, Harbhajan Singh Sembhi, and secretary, Balbir Singh. 

A Hindu family came from Allentown, a testament to Sikhs' welcoming of other religions' followers and their treatment of all people as equal. Satpal Singh, owner of Easton Corner Market at Fourth and Northampton streets, also worshipped at the gurudwara's inaugural service. 

Worshippers gathered for a meal in the Olde Mill Yoga & Wellness Center's basement before going upstairs for the service. Music was central to the program, featuring singers accompanied by the accordion-like harmonium and tabla drums. 

A group of Sikh performers from India helped mark the opening. 

Kaur said the gurudwara fosters a sense of community, a core foundation of Sikhism. Serving others is the other primary foundation. She said it is common in large cities to find gurudwaras open 24 hours a day offering food to the homeless. 

"We don't practice deeds for an afterlife," Kaur said. "Everything is being performed for a heaven-on-Earth kind of thing." 

Visitors are welcome to Sikh Sadh Sangat's gurudwara. Shoes must be taken off, and heads must be covered. The congregation offers a basket of bandannas to newcomers.