International News from the UUA (iNews)
Contents:
I. Sharing Global Faith
August's Sharing Global Faith is now available online: Bishop Ferenc Bálint Benczédi, Rev. Fulgence Ndagijimana, and Rev. John Buehrens thoughtfully reflect on the subject of Faith in this rich edition.
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.
Read the most recent devotional online!
II. A Ritual for Ingathering Water Communion Services: With an international focus
Congregations are invited to make use of a new Water Communion liturgy from the UUA's International Resources office. The liturgy is adaptable to a variety of contexts.
Though Water Communion services vary greatly from congregation to congregation, they are generally an excellent opportunity to express commitment to our Sixth Principle: We Covenant to Affirm and Promote the Goal of World Community with Peace, Liberty and Justice for All.
The International Resources Office also offers a general Water Ceremony/Communion resource (PDF), in the framework of the "Faith Without Borders" program, offering suggestions for Sixth Principle ministry in the areas of spirituality, education, advocacy, partnership, stewardship, pilgrimage & witness, and associational leadership.
Read more about the IRO's 2009 Water Communion liturgy here!
III. "Long Live the Struggle"
The International Resources Office is pleased to announce the online availability of "Long Live the Struggle," an overview of UUHIP, focusing on Vivek Pandit, director of program partner Vidhayak Sansad.
Learn more about the work of the Holdeen India Program as it brings a sense of hope to the people it works with while providing a model for ending social injustice. "Long Live the Struggle" is available on YouTube in full. A limited number of DVD's are available for free from the International Resources Office (contact international@uua.org for more details).
IV. Standing on the Side of Love in North East India
The Reverend Helpme H. Mohrmen, General Secretary of the Unitarian Union of North East India, had a Special Article published on the Editorial Page of The Shillong Times on August 17, 2009. This article follows last month's decision by the High Court in Delhi which was argued by UU Holdeen India Partner, Anand Grover, of the Lawyer's Collective.
Rev. Mohrmen's article is available in full here.
V. News from IARF
Save the date!
"Reconciliation with the Earth, Each Other and the Stranger" is the theme for the U.S. Chapter Conference, which will be held in Clearwater, FL, January 14-17th, 2010. Rev. Bill Schulz and Rev. Paul Rasor are two of the speakers who will be presenting. The work of IARF around the world will be shared along with preparations for the Congress in India in September 2010. Additionally we will have Circle Groups and time for renewing friendships. Registration information will be forthcoming.
VI. Leadership for a Religiously Diverse World
October 25 - 27, 2009
Hosted by the Center for Civic Engagement, at Northwestern University
Chicago, IL
Interfaith Youth Core's (IFYC) 6th Conference, Leadership for a Religiously Diverse World, will engage participants in the question of how young people can be the architects of a global movement of interfaith service. This Conference will offer:
- Plenary sessions with dynamic speakers, including religious leaders, young people, activists, policy makers, academics and more;
- The debut of IFYC's premiere interfaith leadership training;
- Interactive workshops and trainings from best-in-class organizations and practitioners from around the world;
- Networking opportunities with leaders in the emerging interfaith youth movement.
IFYC welcomes faith leaders, educators, researchers, student leaders, community activists, civic leaders, media professionals, funding professionals, and policy influencers. Join interfaith youth movement colleagues from across the country as IFYC explores interfaith leadership in today's world!
Register today!
VII. News from the ICUU
Global Chalice
The July 2009 edition of the ICUU's newsletter is now available online. This edition includes reports on: the ICUU's new staff appointments; notes from the Annual Meetings of the Canadian Unitarian Council and the General Assembly of Unitarian and Free Christian Churches; and an article about "International Threads" at General Assembly 2009.
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!
VIII. Now Available on Google Books
The International Resources Office is pleased to announce the addition of two new out-of-print titles to our Google Books Library. The full texts are available online, free:
Credo International: Voices of Religious Liberalism from Around the World, by Don McEvoy
The author, a member of the First Unitarian Universalist Church in San Diego, California, has drawn upon historical sources to create faith statements from sixty-one prominent Unitarians and Universalists.-- UU World December 2003
Credo: Unitarian and Universalists of Yesteryear Talk About Their Lives and Motivations, by Don McEvoy
A collection of 37 first-person "credos", imaginatively reconstructed, from prominent historical figures. -- UU World December 2001
This refreshing book suggests the sources from which serious seekers have discovered insight and inspiration. -- Religious Humanism winter/spring 2001
IX. 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!
X. ICUU Global Chalice Lighting Reading for August 2009
The International Council of Unitarians and Universalists announces the 72nd 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 French and English, is to be used during August 2009.
Allumons le calice qui symbolise notre foi!
Faisons ce geste tous ensemble, ou bien encore le même jour pour ceux qui sont isolés et se joignent à nous.
Encourageons-nous mutuellement et fraternellement,
Partageons notre foi avec notre cœur, de grande convivialité,
Agissons pour un monde plus vert, développons notre planète en la laissant
bleue, transmettons l'espérance arc-en-ciel à nos enfants
Donnons la Vie à notre tour.
Let us light the chalice which stands for our faith.
Let us all unite together in this gesture,
or on the same day, for those who cannot be with us.
Let us all encourage each other fraternally.
Let us share our faith with our hearts, interacting together.
Let us act for a greener world and develop our planet, preserving its blue.
Let us pass on rainbow colored hope to our children.
Let us in turn give life.
Jean-Claude Barbier
Assemblée Fraternelle des Chrétiens Unitariens
XI. 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)
- October 25-27, 2009: Interfaith Youth Core presents: "Leadership for a Religiously Diverse World", Chicago, IL
- December 3-9, 2009: Parliament of the World's Religions, Melborne, Australia
- January 14-17, 2009: IARF U.S. Chapter Conference, Clearwater, FL.
XII. 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.
XIII. 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.
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