Over 500 people, including congregation members and the local community at large, are expected to attend the April 4th Foundation Stone Ceremony for ISKCON of New Jersey’s grand new temple in Parsippanny. The ceremony is set to launch construction on a project that took over a decade of hard work, and will ultimately cost a total of $7 to $8 million.
Parsippany Mayor Michael Sorriano will attend the event, and will ceremonially open a curtain to reveal the foundation stone and officially inaugurate the construction process. The polished granite slab, currently being fashioned in India, will be engraved with the words “International Society for Krishna Consciousness, Founder Acharya A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada” and “This Foundation Stone was laid by Mayor Michael Sorriano.”
The ensuing program, to be held in a hall across the street from the temple site, will feature kirtan, a presentation on the project with pledges, and a sumptuous feast.
Construction of the temple will begin soon after, with the shell of the building set to be completed within twelve to fifteen months. Deities will be installed near the end of 2021, after which additional funds will be raised over time, and the building will gradually be completed in phases.
The road to this point has been a long one. ISKCON of New Jersey has been operating from the current temple in Towaco, Northern New Jersey, since 1981. But the building, now well over 100 years old, was never designed as a place of worship.
“As our congregation has grown over the years, we’ve felt more and more stresses due to the fact that there is insufficient parking, the temple room is too small, and we don’t have good classroom facilities for our Sunday School, or a separate prasadam area for visitors,” says temple president Nilamani Das.
Source: https://iskconnews.org/foundation-stone-ceremony-to-herald-grand-new-iskcon-new-jersey-temple,7290/
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