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April 9, 2010
Contents:
I. Dedicating a Unitarian Church in Jrikyndeng, India
Over the last few weeks, Rev. Eric Cherry spent some time visiting with Unitarians in North East India. Full of learning and inspiration, the visit served to recommit the already strong relationship between the UUA and the Unitarian Union of North East India (UUNEI).
Among one of the first American UUs to visit Unitarian churches in the Karbi Anglong region, Rev. Cherry was afforded the rare opportunity to assist with the dedication of a Unitarian Church in remotely located Jrikyndeng, India. Over the ravine and through the earthen hills, the day-long voyage was taken with high spirits and occasional vehicular difficulties.
Read Rev. Cherry's account of the challenges, and triumphs, that the journey entailed!
II. Photos from India
During Rev. Cherry's recent visit to India, he visited: Kochi for the IARF's Council Meeting; with the Unitarian Union of North East India (UUNEI); and Chennai, where he met with the minister of the Unitarian Christian Church of Madras (Chennai).
Please enjoy his photos from the journey!
III. Ugandan LGBT Speaker Featured on Democracy Now!
Frank Mugisha (spokesperson of Sexual Minorities Uganda) and Rev. Kapya Kaoma of Political Research Associates recently toured NYC, Boston, and Washington D.C. to speak about the connection between U.S. conservative religious forces and increased harassment of LGBT people in Uganda.
Mugisha and Kaoma also appeared on Democracy Now!, where they discussed the untenable situation in Uganda as the world watches and waits for the pending Anti-Homosexuality Bill.
View the video online! [via the UU-UNO]
IV. ICUUW Newsletter Now Available
The International Convocation of Unitarian and Universalist Women (ICUUW) has released its Spring 2010 newsletter. In this issue, read about: a Bolivian UU's fight for justice, International Women's Day 2010, the Women's Funding Network, a message from the ICUUW president, and more!
Read the ICUUW's Spring Newsletter!
V. IARF Congress - September '10
IARF CONGRESS | COCHIN, KERALA, INDIA
SEPTEMBER 1-7, 201O
The Dalai Lama will be keynote speaker for the 33rd IARF Congress, which takes place September 4-7.
UUA President Peter Morales will participate.
Pre-Congress/Congress events include:
- A tour the last week in August.
- September 1-4: International Assoc. for Liberal Religious Women (IALRW)
- September 1-4: Interfaith Issues - Joint program with World Congress of Faiths (WCF)
including worship, small group discussions, and excursions (to be confirmed in March).
- September 4-7: IARF CONGRESS - www.iarf.net
The 33rd Congress of the International Association for Religious Freedom will be a very special occasion for participants. The theme is "Beyond Conflict to Reconciliation: the Challenge of the 21st Century."
An international list of speakers includes: His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama, Dr. Karan Singh, President of the Temple of Understanding, Ms. Asma Jahangir, UN Special Rapporteur on Religion or Belief from the United Nations, Dr. Sheikh Ali, Muslim interfaith leader.
Registration information is available online. The UUA has ten voting delegates so if you are interested in being one, contact the Rev. Eric Cherry at the International Resources Office. There will be important issues to vote on regarding the future of the organization.
Also, the International Association for Liberal Religious Women will be celebrating its 100th year with a special program for women. Don't miss these exciting events and of course, don't miss that unique welcome given by Indian hospitality to its guests! Please contact Doris Hunter, chair of the US Chapter, IARF if you have questions about the coming 33rd Congress of IARF.
Related:
The IARF U.S. Chapter Winter 2010 Newsletter is now available online!
VI. Rachel Sabbath Initiative
Every 60 seconds, somewhere in the world a woman dies from complications related to pregnancy or childbirth.
The Rachel Sabbath Initiative: Saving Women's Lives supports the United Nations' Millennium Development Goal 5, which focuses on improving maternal health. The Religious Institute calls on congregations and denominations across a range of faith traditions to raise awareness and support for the UN's targets of reducing maternal mortality worldwide and achieving universal access to reproductive health by 2015.
Fifty-three national religious leaders have joined the Religious Institute in calling on congregations to participate in the Rachel Sabbath Initiative, and to involve religious leaders and faith communities in promoting access to reproductive health care globally and preventing maternal mortality.
Become involved in the worldwide effort to reduce preventable maternal deaths: Join the Religious Institute's Rachel Sabbath Initiative!
VII. UUHIP: Partners for Justice in India Video
The UUA International Resources Office is happy to announce the release of "UUHIP: Partners for Justice in India," a great introduction to the work and philosophy of the Unitarian Universalist Association's Holdeen India Program.
UUHIP works with key leaders and organizations of India's most marginalized and disadvantaged peoples in their struggle to secure human rights and economic and social justice. The program supports the efforts of those peoples excluded or oppressed on the basis of gender, caste, ethnicity, religion or sexual orientation, especially dalits (untouchables), adivasis (tribals), migrant, bonded and child laborers, domestic and home-based workers, and scavengers, helping them to participate fully in the social, economic and political life of India.
Available online for free, as well as on DVD, the video features profiles of 5 Holdeen India Program partners as well as reflections by Program Direction Kathy Sreedhar, former UUA President Rev. John Buehrens and UU minister Rev. Abhi Janamanchi.
For those interested in obtaining a DVD copy of the video, please contact the International Resources Office.
View "UUHIP: Partners for Justice in India" online!
VIII. CLF: Make Your Own Sundays
From the Church of the Larger Fellowship (CLF):
Subscribers of this wonderful resource will be able to choose a topic; choose a sermon, readings, a children's story, or closing words; choose a format, choose a season, choose a holiday. Put it all together, and you have the components of Sunday morning worship for all ages.
What's the cost? $129 US for a one-year subscription.
Contact Beth Murray via email or phone (00-1-617-948-6150), and she'll get you signed up! Spread the word about this new resource with this handy, printable PDF!
IX. ICUU Monthly Global Chalice Lighting
The International Council of Unitarians and Universalists announces the 80th 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 April 2010.
French
Au nom de la Miséricorde et de la Compassion :
Suivant les traces d'Ibn Arabi, maître soufi, nous laissons se dilater nos coeurs,
afin de les rendre capables d'étreindre toute forme spirituelle ou existentielle.
Notre cœur, pour celles et ceux qui cherchent, est devenu une église, un temple, une synagogue, une mosquée, un sanctuaire,
une citadelle pour les humbles, les souffrants et les minorités d'où qu'elles viennent.
Nous croyons en la religion de l'Amour, qui n'a pas de genre, vers laquelle se dirigent les histoires personnelles.
Car l'Amour est notre religion et notre foi.
English
In the name of compassion and loving-kindness :
Following the paths of Ibn Arabi, a Sufi master,
we let our hearts dilate to enable them to fit all spiritual or existential kinds.
For those who seek, our hearts have become church, temple, synagogue, mosque, sanctuary;
stronghold for the poor, for those who are suffering, for minorities wherever they come from.
We believe in the religion of Love, which has no gender, and to which all personal stories are leading.
Because Love is our religion and our faith.
-- Yohann Amal
Conseil des Unitariens et Universalistes Français (CUUF)
X. Events
- April 13, 2010: UUPCC Virtual Conference Call: "It's time to BUILD! An Update on BUILD UU Philippines"
- June 23-27, 2010: UUA General Assembly, Minneapolis, MN
- July 9-13, 2010: U-U Ministers Conference, Eindhoven, the Netherlands (visit www.icuu.net)
- July 13-17, 2010: The Third ICUU International Theological Symposium, Eindhoven, the Netherlands (visit www.icuu.net)
- September 1-7, 2010: IARF Congress in Kochi, India
XI. 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 newly revamped blog for postings on a wide variety of issues!
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