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URI Talks Back To Hate Speech With New Campaign

2013-06-12T12:30:00-07:00

The United Religions Initiative (URI) has announced the launch today of Talking Back To Hate, an online campaign that uses dialogue, education and storytelling to prevent and respond to incidents of hate speech, bullying and discrimination.

“Hate speech directed toward immigrants, religious, ethnic and other minorities, has become so widespread, it’s become institutionalized. Bus and billboard ads, talk radio, and the insidious forms of hate speech on the Internet, fuel prejudice and increasingly harmful actions like those we’ve seen recently,” said Debra Bernstein, associate executive director of the United Religions Initiative. “URI believes the best responses to hateful speech and hostile actions are positive dialogue and proactive, cooperative action. With the help of our partners, we hope to raise awareness about the spread of xenophobia and discrimination, and help prevent acts of hate and discrimination from taking hold in the future.”

The new Talking Back To Hate site highlights compelling stories and videos from people throughout the world who managed to turn their encounter with hate speech, bullying or discrimination into something positive. The site also provides resources to help schools, communities and religious groups both respond to acts of prejudice, and prevent them from occurring. These include guidelines for activities that foster respect and understanding, examples of positive individual and community actions in response to discrimination, and ways to reach out to victims of hate.

The site also includes an online pledge, asking participants to take a stand against discrimination and hate speech. In the coming weeks, the campaign will announce the first in a series of webinars that will address these issues, as well as plans for a worldwide day of action on Sept. 21, 2013, the International Day of Peace.

“URI North America is excited to be one of the growing list of partners for URI's Talking Back to Hate campaign,” said Kathryn Ward, URI’s regional coordinator for North America. “As one of eight regions of the URI Global Network, URI North America believes that talking back to hate and promoting informed, supportive dialogue between members of different cultures and religions will help foster peace and understanding throughout North America and URI’s global network.”

URI will be joined in these efforts by its organizational partners for Talking Back To Hate, which include the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) California, Carry the Vision, the Euphrates Institute, The Interfaith Observer, the Oakland Peace Center, The Peace Alliance, the San Francisco Interfaith Council, the World Sikh Organization of Canada and the Three Faiths Forum of the UK.

“We believe strongly in this campaign because Euphrates is committed to amplifying the voices of reason, rather than those adding more fuel to the fire of conflict, misunderstanding, and division,” said Janessa Gans Wilder, executive director of the Euphrates Institute. The Euphrates Institute works to advance freedom and equality by investing in better relations between the West and the Middle East through education, travel and community engagement.

We are asking media to assist in disseminating this vitally important information. For media resources and more information about URI, or to schedule an interview with URI leaders or staff members, please contact Stephanie Whitney at (415) 956-1791 or stephanie@torme.com.

Dresden Workshop Draws Diverse Audience

2013-05-24T11:48:00-07:00

Elisabeth Lheure, a Trustee of URI’s Global Council, led the two-day workshop from May 10 to 11 at the Technische Universität Dresden (Dresden University of Technology. The intensive, eight-hour training event was organized by the Bahá'í Students Association and co-hosted by the UNESCO Association for Interreligious Dialogue CC (AUDIR).

The workshop provided its participants with information on what to consider when meeting and working with people from different religious backgrounds. Elisabeth, a member of the URI Europe Executive Committee since 2006, is an experienced mediator who has used interfaith dialogue to prevent and resolve interreligious conflicts in Barcelona, Spain.

The 14 participants – including Baha'is, Catholics, Humanists, Muslims and Protestants – included many university students, half of whom were studying to become teachers.

Fellow Global Council Trustee Marianne Horling helped facilitate communication between the German- and English-speaking participants. She also explained URI’s purpose and vision, and encouraged those who had completed the program to consider forming a Cooperation Circle.

In Address URIs Kiran Bali Reflects on Strength of Women

2013-05-24T11:15:00-07:00

URI Global Council Chair Kiran Bali discussed the role of women as peacemakers in an address to the International Association for Religious Freedom.

In her address, Kiran considered women as both peacemakers and survivors. She reflected on the example of a mother who had survived both cancer and the trauma of a horrific rape to show how women had triumphed over adversity.

“For many of us, our faith is the spine of our survival,” Kiran said.

Kiran also answered questions from the audience during the May 18 presentation at the Unitarian Church in the London borough of Croydon.

The International Association for Religious Freedom’s United Kingdom chapter is an organization working to promote mutual respect among all religions.

In Japan Amb Mussie Hailu Joins Worldwide Call for Peace

2013-05-22T16:13:00-07:00

An inter-religious, inter-spiritual peace prayer event, the Symphony of Peace Prayers is a global celebration of humanity's diversity and oneness, bringing together people of all faiths, traditions and backgrounds in a common wish and prayer for peace and harmony. First held in 2005 at Japan’s Mt. Fuji Sanctuary, the event has been held in conjunction with Global Peace Meditation and Prayer Day/World Shift Day since 2007.

The Symphony of Peace Prayers is hosted each year by Byakko-Shinko Kai, an organization dedicated to world peace. The founder of Byakko-Shinko Kai, Masahisa Goi, is perhaps best known as the creator of the universal prayer for world peace, “May Peace Prevail on Earth.”

The event has been celebrated worldwide since 2008. In 2011, ceremonies and prayer gatherings commemorating the event took place in more than 50 countries throughout the world, and more than a million people took part.

During the May 19 event, Mussie presented the peace medal of URI Africa to Masami Saionji, Chairperson of Byakko-Shinko Kai and the World Peace Prayer Society in recognition of the outstanding effort of the two organizations in promoting a culture of peace in the world.

In his peace message, Ambassador Mussie highlighted the importance of promoting the teaching of the Golden Rule -- “Treat others the way you want to be treated” – and for engaging others through interfaith cooperation and inter-religious, inter-cultural constructive dialogue. These, he said, respect and honor the diversity of religious, cultural and spiritual traditions and enable the world’s people to learn and appreciate both our differences and the common values that bind us together.

Ambassador Mussie also called upon the leaders of the world to abolish nuclear weapons and to create a nuclear weapons-free world.

As in the past, the 2013 Symphony of Peace Prayers at the Fuji Sanctuary included a large-scale ceremony of praying for peace in each country and region on Earth. Flag-bearers carrying large national flags entered the Prayer Field and formed a beautiful array of color. Each flag was then presented on stage as the participants prayed for peace in that country, using the country’s own national language.

URI’s Executive Director, the Rev. Canon Charles P. Gibbs, took part in the 2012 ceremony, and the Rev. James Channan, URI’s Coordinator for Pakistan, attended the event in 2007.

While in Japan, Ambassador Mussie paid a visit to Hiroshima Mayor Kazumi Matsui, President of Mayors for Peace International, an organization of mayors committed to the abolition of nuclear weapons and creating a peaceful world. The two discussed ways to strengthen and enhance the working partnership between Mayors for Peace and URI.

Ambassador Mussie also met with the director of the Hiroshima Peace Culture Foundation and gave a talk on the issue of peace and interfaith harmony to the students of Hiroshima University.

In Celebrating Diversity Day Talking Back to Hate Shares Messages of Hope

2013-05-21T10:16:00-07:00

Talking Back to Hate, a URI campaign that uses dialogue, education and storytelling to prevent and respond to incidents of hate speech, bullying and discrimination, is sharing messages of peace and respect drawn from many of the world’s great faith traditions as part of the worldwide celebration of “Do One Thing for Diversity and Inclusion Day” on May 21, 2013.

The presentation is part of a worldwide effort by the United Nations Alliance for Civilizations to identify and eliminate stereotypes, improve understanding in a diverse world, and prevent cultural conflicts.

These words of peace will become a key part of the new Talking Back to Hate site, scheduled to launch later this month as part of www.URI.org. The new site will feature stories and videos from people throughout the world who turned their encounter with hate speech, bullying or discrimination into something positive -- and resources to help schools, communities and religious group take a similar approach when confronted by prejudice or hate.

To take part in a discussion of these inspirational texts, visit URI’s Facebook and Twitter pages, or post your comment below.

What do our religious and cultural traditions say about “right speech” and “right action?”

The following quotations are just a few examples of what different religions and indigenous traditions have to say about how to respond to hate, welcome the stranger, and be in relationship with one’s fellow man.

Judaism:

“What is hateful to you, do not do to your neighbour. This is the whole Torah; all the rest is commentary. Go and learn it.” (Hillel, Talmud, Shabbath 31a)

Sikhism:

“I am a stranger to no one; and no one is a stranger to me. Indeed, I am a friend to all.” (Guru Granth Sahib, p.1299)

Christianity:

“Above all, clothe yourselves with love, which binds us all together in perfect harmony.” Colossians 3:14

“But now put them all away: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and foul talk from your mouth.” Colossians 3: 8

Islam:

“And good and evil deeds are not alike. Repel evil with good. And he who is your enemy will become your dearest friend.” (Qur’an 41:33-34)

“God knows all that is in their hearts; so ignore what they say, admonish them and speak to them in such terms as will address their minds.”(Qur’an 4:63)

Buddhism:

“For hatred does not cease by hatred at any time: hatred ceases by love, this is an old rule.” (Dhammapada, Verses 3-5)

Hinduism:

“Ahimsa [or non-violence] is the greatest gift. Ahimsa is the highest self-control. Ahimsa is the highest sacrifice. Ahimsa is the highest power. Ahimsa is the highest friend. Ahimsa is the highest truth. Ahimsa is the highest teaching.” Mahabharata XVIII:116.37-41.

Native American:

“All things are interrelated. Everything in the universe is part of a single whole. Everything is connected in some way to everything else. It is therefore possible to understand something only if we can understand how it is connected to everything else.” – The Twelve Teachings of the Sacred Tree, from Returning to the Teachings, by Rupert Ross

Baha’i:

Be worthy of the trust of thy neighbor, and look upon him with a bright and friendly face…Be fair in thy judgment, and guarded in thy speech. Be unjust to no man, and show all meekness to all men.” (Gleanings from the Writings of Bahá'u'lláh p. 285)

Prayer Vigil Will Support Environment Indigenous Peoples

2013-05-16T15:05:00-07:00

The All Nations Prayer Vigil will take place at noon EDT on Friday, May 17 at the Isaiah Wall in Ralph Bunche Park, located across the street from United Nations Plaza at the corner of First Avenue and 42nd Street in New York City.

Participants at the vigil will pray for the protection and healing of Mother Earth, and for the missions of the United Nations’ Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues to be accomplished. People throughout the world are invited to take part in the vigil by praying at noon their time on Friday, May 17.

The event will be sponsored by the Committee of Religious NGOs at the United Nations.

URI Youth Organize Trash Mob to Clean Kampala Streets

2013-05-16T11:34:00-07:00

Global Youth Service Day is a campaign of YSA (Youth Service America), an international leader in the youth service movement. The event is celebrated each year in more than 100 countries, with young people working together -- and with schools, youth organizations, nonprofits, community and faith-based organizations, national service programs, government agencies, and adult mentors -- to address the world’s most critical issues and change their communities.

The clean-up of Kampala’s Lubaga Division was undertaken in partnership with FOWODE Young Leaders Association Alumni, Kampala City Yange, and the political leadership of the division, which included the Deputy Mayor of Kampala City.

As part of the clean-up, the team called upon the residents of Lubaga and Mengo to keep their environments clean and to avoid throwing waste materials in trenches and along the roads – acts that can lead to hygiene-related diseases, such as cholera.

The team also used the occasion to tell the communities in which they worked about their work with URI, as well as ways residents can get involved in future clean-up exercises and other volunteer work in the community.

The young leaders have pledged to continue cleaning up the streets and roads every month. They also agreed to engage the community in health drives, behavioral change initiatives to sensitize the people about malaria and the dangers of young people using drugs. In addition, they are working to build strategic alliances with local leaders to help mobilize the communities.

A Unified Approach to Hate Crimes

2013-05-14T11:53:00-07:00

After the savage beating of an 82-year-old Sikh man on May 5, Fresno Police Chief Jerry Dyer told members of his community that the attack was an isolated incident.

If only that were true.

The fact is that the assault on 82-year-old Piara Singh – who suffered head wounds, broken ribs and lung lacerations after being beaten with a steel rod – was one of many incidents of religiously-motivated violence in general, and violence against Sikhs in particular, to have taken place in the United States during the last two years.

In its random, senseless cruelty, the attack in Fresno echoed the shooting of two elderly Sikh men in Elk Grove, California in 2011, as well as the murder of six people by a white supremacist gunman outside a Sikh temple in Oak Creek, Wisconsin.

A November 2010 survey of Sikhs in the San Francisco Bay Area found that 10 percent had experienced some form of hate crime, with the majority reporting physical attacks.

These are not isolated incidents. We must take care to ensure they do not become isolating incidents. Hate crimes are particularly insidious because they tend to reinforce the point of view of the perpetrator: that the victims are part of an isolated group existing outside of the mainstream, that religion, culture and ethnicity are insurmountable barriers to community.

Interfaith organizations, like the United Religions Initiative (URI), take a different approach. We don’t ignore the differences between people and perspectives; rather, we find strength in diversity, and believe that many problems are best addressed by a variety of people with multiple points of view.

In Pakistan, Christian, Hindu and Muslim members of URI led a rally for peace following the destruction of 178 homes in a Christian suburb of Lahore. In Jerusalem, the Christian, Druze, Jewish and Muslim members of the Abrahamic Reunion – a URI Cooperation Circle – engaged with a rabbi who had made offensive comments about Muslims, not with a bitter protest, but through a respectful dialogue at the rabbi’s home.

And a new URI campaign, “Talking Back to Hate,” is bringing together people of many religions and spiritual traditions throughout the world to tell the story of how they were able to transform an incident of hate speech or discrimination into an opportunity to deepen understanding of difference and to create a more mutually respectful community.

Even our best efforts may never be able to end the threat of random violence. But by working together to build communities where diversity is celebrated and discrimination of any kind is unacceptable, we can help to create a world in which assaults based on one’s culture or beliefs truly are isolated incidents.

New Partnership to Promote Cultural Diversity and Inclusion

2013-05-13T07:44:46-07:00

New Era Educational and Charitable Support Foundation CC is pleased to announce its new partnership with the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations (UNAOC), UNESCO and a wide coalition of partners from corporations to civil society in launching the world campaign “Do One Thing for Diversity and Inclusion”, aimed at engaging people around the world to Do One Thing to support Cultural Diversity and Inclusion. Following the adoption in 2001 of the Universal Declaration on Cultural Diversity the UN General Assembly declared May 21 as the World Day for Cultural Diversity for Dialogue and Development.

As part of its Partnership responsibilities, New Era Educational and Charitable Support Foundation will, among several other activities:

Host a Conference on “Diversity and Inclusion” on Tuesday, May 21 to mark the United Nations World Day for Cultural Diversity for Dialogue and Development at CRUDAN Guest House, Jos, Nigeria.
Spread the word about the campaign among its networks and members;
Have the banner of the campaign posted on its website; reciprocally, its logo will be posted on the UNAOC website, brochures and communication material of the campaign;
Invite individuals to take a concrete action to support diversity and inclusion;
To build a world community of individuals committed to support diversity with real and every day-life gestures.
To combat polarization and stereotypes to improve understanding and cooperation among people from different cultures.

Why does diversity matters?

Three-quarters of the world’s major conflicts have a cultural dimension.

Bridging the gap between cultures is urgent and necessary for peace, stability and development. The 2013 campaign, by encouraging people and organizations from around the world to take concrete action to support diversity, aims:

· To raise awareness worldwide about the importance of intercultural dialogue, diversity and inclusion.

Every one of us can do ONE thing for diversity and inclusion; even one very little thing can become a global action if we all take part in it.

URIs Womens Initiative Finds Conditions Troubling For Women in Three African Nations

2013-05-07T15:43:00-07:00

After meeting with women’s groups in Burundi, Democratic Republic of the Congo and Rwanda, Despina Namwembe, URI’s Coordinator for the Great Lakes Region of Africa, has a clearer sense of the deeply disturbing conditions affecting women in the area – as well as the steps URI’s Women’s Initiative and other organizations can take to address them.

In Burundi, a nation divided by ethnic violence and troubled by the difficulty in resettling former refugees, Despina met with women who were members of URI. To help them, Despina formed the URI Burundi Women’s Initiative, a group that will work to pass and enforce laws protecting women’s access to property and teach life skills to young girls. She also met with Burundi’s Ombudsman, the nation’s chief mediator, who expressed an interest in working more closely with URI.

In Democratic Republic of the Congo, a nation wracked both by conflicts within neighboring states and conflicts with militant groups within its borders, Despina visited members of the Fire Ministries Women’s Association (pictured above). The group provides counseling and clinical referrals to women who have experienced sexual violence on a horrific scale – women who have been left physically and psychologically scarred by the brutality of their attacks.

“These are women denied even their basic human rights to the highest degree and who deserve to live decent lives,” Despina said. “The URI Women’s Initiative needs to see how best it can contribute to the efforts of other actors in alleviating the suffering of these women.”

Despina noted the need for members of the volunteer organization to receive greater training and support, as well as a global forum in which to tell their story. She encouraged members of the mostly Christian group to include women from other religious backgrounds, and helped them to pursue their interest in becoming members of URI.

In Rwanda, a nation still scarred by the memories of the 1994 genocide that took the lives of more than half a million people, Despina met with members of Sangwa (“Approachable”). The group includes women from different religious backgrounds who are either survivors of the genocide themselves or have been affected by the slaughter.

The group works to provide counseling for women, particularly single mothers, who have been traumatized by the genocide. Many of those women were raped during the conflict, and both they and the children of those rapes have since been ostracized by their communities. The group advocates for women’s rights and offers training in life skills and entrepreneurship. Sangwa also provides women in rural areas with household items, since arguments over necessities is a source of conflict – and domestic violence – in many rural homes.

In addition, members of Sangwa have collaborated on music and drama projects that highlight the plight of women and promote the notion of Rwanda as one nation.

Despina joined Sangwa members in meeting with the President of the Rwanda Human Rights commission, who agreed to partner with the group and to connect URI to another group of religious leaders from diverse backgrounds. Despina also formed a URI Women’s Initiative Committee with volunteers from Sangwa, and encouraged Sangwa members to pursue their interests in becoming a URI Cooperation Circle.

Despina plans to meet with women’s groups in Kenya, Southern Sudan and Uganda later this year to continue her assessment of the challenges affecting women throughout Africa and ways URI’s Women’s Initiative can work with existing groups to help address those challenges.

Indigenous Healer Joins URIs Williams for Peace Talks

2013-05-02T17:03:00-07:00

Audri Scott Williams, coordinator of the Trail of Dreams World Peace Walk Cooperation Circle and host of “Peace Talks,” will welcome guest Diana Longboat for a conversation at noon EST on Friday, May 3 at NOWTIME Radio.

Diana, Speaker of the Governing Council of Soul of the Mother, is a Mohawk woman of the Turtle Clan from the Six Nations Grand River Territory in Canada. She is a ceremonial leader, traditional teacher of indigenous spiritual ways and a healer. She is also a professional educator who has lectured at national and international conferences – as well as at several Canadian universities – on the challenge of personal renewal as a guiding force for nation building.

Soul of the Mother is an organization that seeks to provide indigenous wisdom “as a means of joining the human spirit to the Spirit of the Creator for sacred, loving guidance in life.” NOWTIME Radio is an online “radio blog” that features information and inspirational dialogues to help participants create the change they want to see in the world. To listen in or join the conversation, call (424) 243-9695 or visit www.blogtalkradio.com/nowtime.

Voices for a World Free of Nuclear Weapons Issues Call to Action

2013-05-02T15:40:00-07:00

A chain reaction of neutrons within the natural order can create nuclear warheads.

A chain reaction of fear can unleash enough nuclear weapons to destroy the natural order.

A chain reaction of moral souls intent on abolishing nuclear warheads is the world's only hope for the continuation of the natural order.

Do the right thing. Disarm the monster!

The Right Rev. William E. Swing is Founder and President of the United Religions Initiative, and a member of the Voices for a World Free of Nuclear Weapons Cooperation Circle. The CC, an international coalition of clergy, grassroots activists, diplomats, scientists and scholars, has worked tirelessly to build popular momentum for the elimination of nuclear weapons.

Dresden Workshop Will Discuss Interreligious Competence

2013-05-02T14:01:00-07:00

Elisabeth Lheure, a Trustee of URI’s Global Council will lead the workshop, which will provide attendees with information on what to consider – and what to pay attention to – when meeting and working with people from different religious backgrounds. Elisabeth, a member of the URI Europe Executive Committee since 2006, is an experienced mediator who has used interfaith dialogue to prevent and resolve interreligious conflicts in Barcelona, Spain.

Fellow Global Council Trustee Marianne Horling will attend the event, which will be co-sponsored by URI Europe and the UNESCO Association for Interreligious Dialogue CC (AUDIR) with the assistance of Baha’i Hochschulgruppe Dresden.

The free workshop will take place from 4:30 to 8 p.m. Friday, May 10 and 9:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, May 11 in room WIL/A221 in the Willersbau (Zellescher Weg 12 /14) of the Technische Universität Dresden (Dresden University of Technology) in Germany. For more information, contact dresden@bahai.de.

URI Europe Hosts Workshop on Interreligious Competence

2013-05-02T13:52:00-07:00

Elisabeth Lheure, a Trustee of URI’s Global Council, will lead the workshop, which will provide attendees with information on what to consider – and what to pay attention to – when meeting and working with people from different religious backgrounds. Elisabeth, a member of the URI Europe Executive Committee since 2006, is an experienced mediator who has used interfaith dialogue to prevent and resolve interreligious conflicts in Barcelona, Spain.

Remembering Harvey Masonek

2013-04-30T14:11:00-07:00

Quite a few years ago I had lunch with someone who was a stranger to me. This stranger had worked in many countries throughout the world and sported a reputation for having a keen mind, high integrity and a caring heart. The stranger was Harvey Masonek.

At that lunch, I presented Harvey with an audacious idea that a platform could be created whereby peoples of all the religions of the world could come together and generate enough power for good to change history. Harvey got it, and leapt aboard with two feet.

Before the United Religions Initiative became official, Harvey was on the Interim Global Council which brought URI into being. Then he became a key figure on the Audit Committee for the rest of his life. But far beyond structural responsibilities was his lovely, supportive smile without guile and his attitude of “Atta boy, you is doing great.”

After the 9/11 tragedy, Harvey was part of the group which came up with these words: “We – Buddhist, Baha’is, Christians, Hindus, indigenous Peoples, Jews, Muslims, Sikhs, Taoists and many of other faiths declare our intention to grieve together… we give our lives to the challenging, daily work of peacebuilding so that humanity might claim, out of this tragedy, a new day of compassion, healing and light.”

In the back pages of the URI Global Directory are the pictures of international interfaith leaders who have died. The Celestial Cooperation Circle, it is called. Harvey’s picture will now grace those pages. In the future we will see him, continue to give thanks to God for Harvey’s life and labors, and we will draw strength from his legacy.

Sometimes you have lunch with a stranger and it turns out to be a banquet of blessings. Amen.

The Right Rev. William E. Swing

Founder and President, United Religions Initiative

The Religious Dimension of the Boston Marathon Bombing

2013-04-30T13:48:00-07:00

As a religious leader and an international interfaith leader, I am glad that the media is pressing hard to unearth what role religion might have played in the tragedies surrounding the Boston Marathon. In the United States we enjoy a free press, and at critical times like these getting the facts straight is crucial in helping all of us get the fullest picture possible. But that is only one dimension in service to the public.

Should it turn out to be the case that this was an instance of religiously-motivated violence, then the Boston Bombing would need to be seen in context of situations of similar motivations. For instance, what the Buddhists in Myanmar are doing to the Rohingya Muslims at the moment. What Protestants and Catholics did to each other in Europe for two hundred and fifty years. What so often happens when the lines between religions become battle lines. In those trenches that have been dug for purposes of conversation, domination, annihilation, religions have a long and bloody history of motivating individuals to destroy life in the Name of God.

If we discover that the Boston Bombing was religiously motivated at some level, then an additional dimension is needed to make sense of the carnage. Context! It would not prove that Islam is violent and Christianity is peaceful. The Marathon would only take its sad place in a long history and present examples of religiously-motivated violence.

The missing dimension is one of creating a demilitarized zone between the advances and sufferings of competing religious claims -- like the 38th Parallel in Korea, which divides the North from the South. Although the sides face each other daily through gun barrel sights and nuclear threats, there is a peaceful space between them where animals of that part of the world have come to find refuge. Even so, some people of all faith traditions are learning to get beyond the religious enemy rhetoric and in small ways, find a middle ground, discover the humanity of the other and build community together. I see this going on every day all over the world in little cooperation circles where Jews and Muslims, Indigenous and Hindus, build demilitarized religious zones to give hope to society and to give people of religion a greater option than religiously-motivated violence.

This is the dimension that makes all of the difference.

The Rt. Rev. William E. Swing

Founder and President of the United Religions Initiative

URI Europe Provides Inspiration Through Proverbs

2013-04-30T09:35:00-07:00

Need a dose of inspiration? The URI Europe Cooperation Circle has recently launched a new project to provide proverbs – thoughts with a fitting commentary – on a bi-monthly basis to subscribers throughout Europe.

The project was inspired by Bond zonder Naam (Movement Without a Name), a Belgian Cooperation Circle that distributes proverbs to nearly 200,000 families. Members of URI Europe hope the project will inspire subscribers, cause them to reflect and invite dialogue and specific action.

Subscribers receive their proverbs as hard copies – suitable for framing -- by postal mail. To receive these inspiring messages, register for free at http://www.bzn.be/EN/Pages-418.php.

CC in Focus Inside Ashram Gandhi Puri

2013-04-30T09:00:00-07:00

Behind the tiny front gate of a small, quiet ashram in Klungkung, Bali, one will find an abode for learning and spiritual growth. It is a realized vision of being a hub for young Indonesians, particularly the Balinese youth, to have a community of fellow learners and teachers devoted to social change and transformation.

In the past 10 years, Ashram Gandhi Puri has been in the forefront of organizing numerous events for the youth. Among these events, the Ashram has invited many youth to participate in a yearly three-month program from June to September where they can learn more about spirituality, cultural heritage and socially-relevant issues. Young students come from various backgrounds, schools and other academic and private institutions.

For a time, people had an impression that Ashram Gandhi Puri was some place of some weird ideologies and activities. Indra Agus Udayana, who founded the Cooperation Circle, has been working to bring the Ashram greater visibility and more positive awareness in order to correct these false impressions. He has made efforts to introduce the Ashram to people by collaborating with universities and other governmental and non-governmental organizations. He sees the Ashram as a place for creativity, an art camp whose students can be inspired to develop new visions and movements for themselves.

Located between the hills and rivers of Klungkung, the Ashram’s location, Indra believes, is perfectly conducive to spiritual and creative activities, developing young people in their intellectual and spiritual capacities. The Ashram's commitment to health, both in body and spirit, is shown in its activities like yoga, bioenergy meditation, and agni hotra, or fire ritual. The Ashram's students also showcase cultural presentations, integrating their yoga with dancing skills.

Indra and his students continue to work on their vision of Ashram Gandhi Puri as a community and family for the youth.

This post originally appeared in the URI Southeast Asia and the Pacific region blog. For more information about URI-SEAPac, click here.

In Bosnia and Throughout the World URI Youth Celebrate Global Youth Service Day

2013-04-29T12:08:00-07:00

Dear Friends,

I'm writing you from sunny Bosnia. I'm here to work with two of our Youth Ambassadors. This weekend, they delivered a joint workshop to young people from different walks of life and sections of Bosnian society.

It just so happens that it fell within the window of something called Global Youth Service Day. GYSD is a Youth Service America event that attempts to synchronise acts of youth service around the world, for a real "feel good factor" as well as for the purpose of providing small grants to make those events happen.

Through one of YSA's partner orgs, URI Latin America and the Caribbean got a grant to run some service projects in four countries. So, as well as the workshop in Bosnia, there have also been acts of youth service coming from URI in Argentina and Venezuela; in Peru and the Dominican Republic, led by two former youth ambassadors; on top of that, a former youth ambassador in Morocco also got a grant and ran a youth camp this weekend.

But it doesn't stop there! In Uganda, Hannington organised a "trash mob" - a city cleanup by youth from different backgrounds. And across Europe, members of the fledgling young leaders team marked the day in some symbolic ways, through Facebook posts and blogs, and two of its members from Spain and Germany spoke about YLP at the anniversary celebration of a CC in the Netherlands.

With the Bay Area young adults group growing in capacity, a speakers panel program for high school students taking shape and our eye on bringing YLP activities to India by the end of the year, the momentum is most definitely building!

URI has created a great press release about the GYSD events and there will be much content to read and enjoy afterwards!

Best,

Matt

Matthew Youde

Global Young Leaders Program Coordinator

URIs Celestial CC Gains a New Member

2013-04-26T10:38:00-07:00

Dear Friends,

Greetings of love and peace.

It is with the sadness we inevitably feel at the loss of a bright spirit and dear friend that I inform you of the passing two days ago of Harvey Masonek, who joins the souls of URI's Celestial CC abiding in eternal light.

Harvey was a wise, astute and gentle businessman. Among other things, he sponsored an annual series on international careers at the University of California Berkeley.

Harvey was an early URI board member and a dedicated member of our Interim Global Council. I have an especially vivid memory of Harvey's passionate commitment for the IGC to speak out on 9/11. He helped craft the following statement issued by the IGC:

We, members of the United Religions Initiative's Interim Global Council, express our deep sorrow and grief at the acts of terrorism against the United States and all humanity on Tuesday, September 11, 2001. As people of diverse religions, spiritual expressions and indigenous traditions throughout the world, we unite in mourning for those who lost their lives, and we offer our prayers for their families and loved ones, and for all of humanity.

In an instant, an explosion of hatred and fear darkened the skies over the United States, and around the world. The forces of hatred and violence are suddenly so visible. People call for killing in response to this killing; for acts of war in response to this act of war.

In our shock, grief and fear, and in response to the rising tide of hatred and violence, we give thanks for our existing interreligious relationships dedicated to peace, justice and healing. We - Buddhists, Bahai's, Christians, Hindus, Indigenous peoples, Jews, Muslims, Sikhs, Taoists, and many other faiths - declare our intention to grieve together and to support all others who grieve.

We pledge, together, to offer the gift of prayer and meditation for peace; for justice, not revenge; for healing, not further violence. We state our commitment to build new relationships of peace, justice and healing until no one is left out. We pledge together to give our lives to the challenging, daily work of peacebuilding so that humanity might claim out of this tragedy a new day of compassion, healing and light.

Harvey and his wife, Eve (pictured above), opened their beautiful home, which was filled with wonderful works of art, to host gatherings for URI.

Once his service on the Interim Global Council was over, Harvey continued to support URI. When the Global Council created an Audit Committee many years ago, Harvey graciously accepted an invitation to serve on that committee, a service only his passing has ended.

I have vivid memories of Harvey sitting in our annual meeting with our auditors as we began the audit each year. The auditors always asked me what had happened in URI's life during the past year. It was such a joy, as I spoke, to see the broad, luminous smile on Harvey's face, and feel supported by his frequent comments about how impressed he was by URI's growth.

I last saw Harvey and Eve at our Circles of Light this past March. Though Harvey seemed quite frail, he was beaming with happiness.

I will always remember him that way.

I invite you to join me in offering your prayers/meditations/thoughts for Harvey and Eve. If you feel moved to send a message to Eve, please send it to newsdesk@uri.org. We will collect all the messages we receive and deliver them to Eve.

Thank you.

Love,

Charles

The Rev Canon Charles P. Gibbs

Executive Director, United Religions Initiative