International News from the UUA (iNews)
Please enjoy this week's edition of iNews! If you'd like to unsubscribe, please click here.
Contents:
I. UU Church of the Philippines
The UU Church of the Philippines (UUCP) has embarked upon a Sustainability Program that seeks to build a Dormitory in Dumaguette City. Congregations and individuals can find out more about this exciting program by visiting the project website.
Or, check out a recording of the UU Partner Church Council's most recent "Virtual Conference" during which Rev. Nihal Attanayake (Chair of the UUCP Faith in Action Department) and the UUA's Ambassador to the Philippines, Rev. Fred Muir discuss this project and others.
Additionally, the UU Church of the Philippines held its Annual Meeting in late April and Bob Guerrero was kind enough to share some wonderful photos from the event.
II. Standing on the Side of Love in Mexico
 Earlier this Spring the President of the UU Fellowship of San Miguel de Allende, Mexico, Lee Veal, received a request to conduct a same-sex marriage ceremony for two Mexican men. Though not a minister himself, Lee was able to arrange the ceremony for the two men, Chris and Omar, by way of visiting UU minister Rev. Gail Tapscott (First UU Church of Fort Lauderdale, FL), who was on a sabbatical visit and more than happy to assist. Read more about the ceremony here!
III. Meadville/Lombard's "Unitarianism: A Global Vision" Online Course
Meadville Lombard is offering a new course to Unitarians, Universalists, and Unitarian Universalists from around the world and foster an international community of learners.
Unitarianism: The Global Vision" is a survey course that explores Unitarian history beginning in the sixteenth century to the present. It is designed to provide an appreciation of Unitarianism in a global context.
The course will be taught by the Rev. Dr. Qiyamah Rahman and will be conducted online utilizing Moodle (an on-line meeting space that allows the class to share reflections and have conversation) and video technology.
To find out more information about this course, please click here.
IV. Canadian Unitarian Council Appoints New Executive Director
The Board of Trustees of the Canadian Unitarian Council announced the appointment of Jennifer Dickson as its Executive Director, effective May 12, 2009. Read more here
V. News From the UU-UNO
The Spring 2009 UU-UNO newsletter is now available online! Learn about what the office has been up to for the past several months and find out ways you can become more involved. Read updates from the UU-UNO's LGBT initiative, ending gender based violence in Darfur, the Every Child is Our Child program and more!
Support payment of US dues to the UN!
Read more about what you can do to help strengthen America's global leadership!
VI. Sharing Global Faith
Grounded in the goal of world community with peace, liberty and justice for all, Sharing Global Faith invites Unitarians and Universalists from around the world to deepen and enrich our shared global faith.
The international devotional will be distributed on the second Monday of every month starting in April, 2009 and running through September, 2009. Each publication will address a central issue in the development of faith-life and will include thoughtful responses from a diverse geographical selection of U/U spiritual leaders. Topics range from freedom to fellowship, justice to hope. Alongside the monthly e-resource, the devotional's webpage will host additional information about the project and each of the contributors.
The April devotional is now available!
VII. International Opportunities for UU Clergy
 UUCP Sabbatical Program
Experienced UUA ministers are invited to consider applying to spend 3- 4 months of a sabbatical with the Unitarian Universalist Church of the Philippines (UUCP), providing skill development in these and other areas:
- Nurturance of the UU faith through teaching and articulation of theological concepts.
- Youth and Young Adult Ministry
- Project development, management and community work.
- Church administration, leadership and financial management.
Successful applicants should expect to be engaged in this ministry for approximately 20-hours/week. Contexts will include worship services, traditional classes and less formal discussion groups. The unique skills that a successful applicant brings to this ministry will also be integrated.
The organizing and implementing body for this program will be the UU Church of the Philippines' Religious Education Committee. The UUCP will provide sabbatical program participants with housing and local transportation. Other expenses will be the responsibility of the applicant, with some assistance available from the UUA.
Read more about the UUCP Sabbatical Program and how to apply!
VIII. News from the ICUU
March 2009 ICUU Newsletter
The March ICUU newsletter "The Global Chalice" is now available online for download.
In this quarter's edition: a call for participants at the upcoming ICUU meeting in Koloszvar, an update about the ICUUW, an executive summary from the ICUU, a news item about increasing Chinese interest in Unitarian Universalism, an update from John Clifford about Kenyan UU's, and much more! Click here to download a PDF version of the newsletter.
ICUU Council Meeting in Koloszvar, Transylvania
September 1-5, 2009
The ICUU Executive unanimously agreed to accept the invitation from the Transylvanian Unitarian Church to hold the next Council Meeting and associated International Gathering in Kolozsvár, the city of their Headquarters and College. On many western maps, the city is identified as Cluj, Romania.
The Council Meeting will run from Tuesday 1 September, 2009 (arrivals) to Saturday 5 September (departures). A full day pilgrimage to Deva, site of the prison where Dávid Ferenc (Francis David) died, is being planned -- this might be just before, just after, or during the Council Meeting (the dates of the CM might be adjusted slightly if the Deva trip is during the meetings).
All Member Groups are entitled to send one voting delegate to the Council; Groups with more than 3000 individual adult members are entitled to a second voting delegate. There will be a sponsorship fund to assist travel and accommodation for delegates from developing economies. Additionally, individual Unitarians, Universalists, and Unitarian Universalists may attend the International Gathering at their own expense; these individuals may observe the Council Meeting but not speak or vote at business sessions although they may participate in the other aspects of the programme.
Please click here for further information!
IX. ICUU Global Chalice Lighting Reading for May 2009
The International Council of Unitarians and Universalists announces the 69th 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, in Chinese and English, is to be used during May 2009.
老 子: 「道 德 經」 : 第 一 章
道 可 道 ， 非 常 道 。 名 可 名 ， 非 常 名 。
無 名 天 地 之 始 ﹔ 有 名 萬 物 之 母 。
故 常 無 ， 欲 以 觀 其 妙 ﹔ 常 有 ， 欲 以 觀 其 徼 。
此 兩 者 ， 同 出 而 異 名 ， 同 謂 之 玄 。
玄 之 又 玄 ， 眾 妙 之 門 。
The tao that can be told is not the eternal Tao;
The name that can be named is not the eternal Name.
The unnamable is the eternally real.
Naming is the origin of all particular things.
Free from desire, you realize the mystery.
Caught in desire, you see only the manifestations.
Yet mystery and manifestations arise from the same source.
This source is called Mystery.
Mystery within Mystery,
The gateway to all understanding.
Chapter 1, Tao Te Ching, written by Lao-tzu
Modified from a translation by S. Mitchell
Unitarian Universalists Hong Kong
X. Events
- September 1-5, 2009: ICUU Council Meeting in Koloszvar, Transylvania
- October 16-26, 2009: UUPCC Pilgrimage to the Philippines
- October 22-25, 2009: Conference of IARF European & Middle Eastern Region and the European Liberal Protestants Network
at Mannheim and Ludwigshafen (near Heidelberg, Germany)
- December 3-9, 2009: Parliament of the World's Religions, Melborne, Australia
- June 24-28, 2009: General Assembly, Salt Lake City, UT
XI. International Resources Office on Facebook
The latest pervasive, must-have technology since the invention of the cell phone, Facebook is everywhere. And it's growing.
Combining the best features of email, MySpace, and other Web 2.0 technology, 374,000 people join Facebook each day to connect, reconnect, and interact.
So, it's about time the International Resources Office joined the (page) ranks of the Facebook-o-sphere (or maybe it's Facebook-o-verse?)!
The versatility of the Facebook layout allows for our office resources to be neatly listed and easily navigable. You can find out about upcoming events, learn more about the Faith Without Borders program, and hear announcements about new resources available on our homepage.
XII. Faith Without Borders
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.
XIII. Inspired Faith - Effective Action Blog
As part of the UUA's Advocacy and Witness Staff group, the International Resources office contributes to the Inspired Faith - Effective Action blog. Visit the blog for postings on a wide variety of issues. Or, subscribe to an rss feed of international-related posts.
XIV. International Engagement Database
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.
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