The UUA's Faith Without Borders program invites and assists UU congregations design and raise the visibility of their international engagement - their Sixth Principle ministry. Congregations that celebrate an annual water ceremeny/communion in early September as an Ingathering/Homecoming ritual can include international themes in a variety of ways.

Please make use of new Water Ceremony/Communion planning materials from the International Resources Office.

"Reaffirming Human Rights for All: the Universal Declaration at 60," which began today, September 3, is a three-day conference taking place at UNESCO headquarters in Paris.

Sponsored by the UN's Department of Public Information and presented in cooperation with the many nongovernmental organizations with consultative status at the UN, the UU-UNO (UU-United Nations Office) is taking the lead on addressing LGBT Human Rights issues.

Held to commemorate the signing in Paris in 1948 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the event is cosponsored by UNESCO, the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, and the Government of France.

Bruce Knotts, Executive Director of the UU-UNO, is a member of the conference's subcommittee on outreach. In planning sessions, Knotts was struck by the omission of the LGBT community among those whose rights are threatened around the world. "If we were going to discuss the human rights of every conceivable marginalized group," he recalls, "we could not exclude the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender (LGBT) community."

Video resource now available: Learn about the Project Harvest Hope Pilgrimages to the Unitarian Homeland in Transylvania.

Click here to view the video

To learn more about pilgrimage opportunities with Project Harvest Hope, please visit their website.

The Tents of Hope project gives communities the opportunity to respond to the crisis in Darfur, Sudan by creating tents that are both unique works of art and ongoing focal points within communities. Through the tents, communities are learning about, assisting and establishing relationships with the people of Sudan.

You can purchase, construct and/or share a tent. The Unitarian Universalist Service Committee (UUSC) is providing informational and advocacy resources to accompany the Tents of Hope project which are available for download here. They include tips on how to start this project and educational materials to share with your community. You can also order campaign materials for your event at no charge.

In November, you can accompany or ship your tent to Washington, D.C., for a gathering of tents on the National Mall. The national gathering will last from November 7-9th and will include workshops, vigils, and worship. Afterwards, many of the tents will be shipped to Darfuri refugee camps to be used as shelters for homes, schools, and community centers.

If erecting a Tent for Hope is not a good fit for your congregation, the UUSC is offering a simple action that everyone can do - advocacy postcards! The postcards urge the U.S. Congress to provide oversight to ensure that the UN peacekeepers in Darfur are trained to respond to the dangers of rape and violence that Aisha and all Darfuri women face. The postcards are uniquely shaped like tents, and you can order them here. The postcards will come with an action packet explaining all you need to know to get your cards into the hands of key policy-makers. .

For more information, visit www.uusc.org/tentsofhope.

The Fall '08 issue of UU World features an article by Rev. Denis McCarty abridged from "Of Terrorism, Horrorism, Covenant, and Rebellion," a paper presented at the Theological Symposium of the International Council of Unitarians and Universalists in Kolozsvár, Romania, in 2006 and published in The Home We Share: Globalization, Post-Modernism, and Unitarian/Universalist Theology, edited by Clifford M. Reed and Jill K. McAllister

The Home We Share is available from the UUA bookstore. Along with Rev. McCarty's complete presentation the book contains a diverse and very inspiring collection of theological addresses from international U/U voices.

"The Global Chalice," the ICUU Newsletter, has just released its July 2008 edition. Highlights include a story on the Canadian Unitarian Council's Annual Conference and Meeting in Ottawa, Canada.

The newsletter is available for download here.
Visit www.icuu.net for more information.

Belfast was host to two related conferences 24-26 July, 2008. On July 24 the European Liberal Protestant Network (ELPN) met in the church sanctuary. From July 25-26 the International Association for Religious Freedom (IARF-Europe) convened for a conference entitled "Religion in the Public Space."

Read a report from both meetings here.

Introduced at General Assembly, the "Faith Without Borders" program invites congregations to integrate a commitment to faithful global citizenship into many aspects of congregational life. Participants in the program will receive resources, consultation and celebration from the International Resources Office. For more information, click here.

The UU United Nations Office has created excellent materials for congregations to celebrate UN Sunday on October 26, 2008. They are available here.

Join with UU congregations in North America to support the UU voice at the United Nations and the 2008 UN Sunday theme: Human Rights: Dignity and Justice for Us All.

A similar UN Sunday resource designed with the "Faith Without Borders" framework is also available here.
Please make use of either or both of these offerings.

The International Council of Unitarians and Universalists announces the 61st in its monthly series of global chalice lighting readings. Congregations worldwide are invited to participate.

All ICUU-affiliated groups have been asked to submit brief chalice lightings for the project. Every month, a reading will be distributed to Unitarian and Universalist congregations around the world. We ask each congregation to use the reading for at least one worship service in the designated month, identifying it as the "Global Chalice Lighting" for that month and naming the group which submitted it. Readings will be circulated in English and, where different, in their original language.

It is hoped that the ICUU Global Chalice Lighting Project will enhance the worship experience in our congregations and raise awareness of the international dimensions of our religious movement.

This Global Chalice Lighting, from the Religious Education Director of the Tennessee Valley Unitarian Universalist Church in Knoxville, is to be used during September 2008.

We are safe.
We are together.
We are loved.
And so it will be.

-Brian Griffin
Unitarian Universalist Association of Congregations

As part of the UUA's Advocacy and Witness Staff group, the International Resources office contributes to the Inspired Faith - Effect Action blog. Visit the blog for postings on a wide variety of issues. Or, subscribe to an rss feed of international-related posts.

The IRO maintains a database of the many varieties of international engagement that UU congregations are involved with. To date we have records from approximately 150 congregations in the database. Is your congregation one of them? If so, we'd love to update your entry. If not, we'd love to include information about your congregation's international engagement.

Contact Nicole McConvery to check/update your congregation's status in the database.

Or, if you'd like to be in contact with other congregations who are involved with international programs that are similar to yours, let us know and we'll provide you with a report.