Step Forward for UN Decade of Dialogue

Hopes for a UN Decade of Dialogue took a big step forward last week with the creation of a Coalition of faith-based, interfaith and value-based organisations, pledged to work together to realise this vision.

The meeting was in response to a UN General Assembly resolution, approved unanimously in November 2008 and sponsored by 78 Member States which requested “the Office for Economic and Social Council Support and Coordination in the Department of Economic and Social Affairs of the United Nations Secretariat, which plays the focal point role on inter-religious, inter-cultural and inter-civilizational matters, to coordinate with the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization in facilitating consideration of the possibility of proclaiming a United Nations decade for inter-religious and inter-cultural dialogue, understanding and cooperation for peace”
See Resolution A/63/L.24/Rev.2 of 13 November 2008. Paragraph 8.

Over fifty organisations, including representatives from all the great world religions, took part in the meeting to form the coalition, which was held at the Maryknoll Centre at Ossining, near New York. Among those taking part were representatives of the World Council of Churches, the Chief Rabbinate of Israel, the Roman Catholic International Union of Superior Generals of Religious Congregations, Religions for Peace and the World Scout Movement. The meeting ended with a briefing session in the Eco-Chamber at the United Nations.

The President of the UN General Assembly, H.E Miguel D’Escoto Brockmann, expressed his strong support for the initiative, saying, ‘As we rush to prevent the immediate social devastation that is already seen in the world, we must keep clam and keep our eye on the prize – long-term peace and justice for all citizens of this beleagured planet. In this lies the strength of your Coalition.’ Rev Dr Marcus Braybrooke, representing the World Congress of Faiths and the Three Faiths Forum said, ‘The Decade will be sign of hope. It will help the UN reconnect with ordinary people and challenge faith communities to make their priority the search for peace and justice, the relief of poverty and the preservation of the planet.’

Healing the Scars of Conflict

'Commitment to Non-Violence needs to be matched by a willingness to challenge injustice.' This was the message of the four courageous speakers at the recent WCF day conference on 'Healing the Scars of Conflict. '
Nobel Peace Prize winner Mairead Maguire said that in Northern Ireland the Peace People had to confront those who resorted to arms. Equally now she is actively campaigning for justice for the people of Gaza. Donald Reeves, formerly Vicar of St James', Picadilly, and now Director of 'Soul of Europe', has had to challenge prejudice and persuaded religious leaders to work for reconciliation. Ibrahim Issa and Ghassan Manasra, representatives of Jerusalem Peacemakers, told of the difficulties facing their work for peace. Yet despite the difficulties all four speakers, thanks to their faith, remained confident that an honest facing of past evil and the willingness to forgive could bring healing and hope even in the most troubled situations.
The beautiful and tranquil setting of the Abbey at Sutton Courtenay was a striking contrast to the situation in which all the speakers are active. Yet, as they said, without inner peace no one can bring healing and peace to others.

Hope for the Future!

The Uppsala Interfaith Climate Manifesto 2008

Faith traditions addressing Global Warming


As religious leaders and teachers from the whole world, gathered in Uppsala 2008, we call for effective leadership and action in view of the global threat to the climate. From religious traditions, with different approaches to religious life, we come together at this time in human history to assure the world of what we have in common. We all share the responsibility of being conscious caretakers of our home, planet Earth. We have reflected on the concerns of scientists and political leaders regarding the alarming climate crisis. We share their concerns.
The world religions are a source of empowerment for change in lifestyles and patterns of consumption. Religious faith remains a powerful force for good among a considerable number of the human family. We undertake this mission in a spirit of responsibility and faith.

FROM WONDER TO CHANGE

With a sense of wonder we look at life on planet Earth. It is a miracle - and a gift!
Clear nights with the sky full of stars fill us with awe. It reminds us of our role in the universe. We have many reasons to be humble. Meditating on the sea shore, in the desert or in the forest allows us to feel one with the universe, yet we are so small. Faith traditions with diverse cultures and backgrounds converge to express wonder and awe at the gift of life.

In the history of the Earth, the climate has always varied. However, we are very concerned about the huge human impact on the Earth’s very complex and sensitive climate system. Today humanity constitutes a major force which changes the preconditions of life and welfare for most creatures on the planet. We know enough to realize that we need to act now in the interest of future generations. The situation is critical. Glaziers and the permafrost are melting. Devastating drought and flooding strike people and ecosystems, especially in the South.

Can planet Earth be healed? We are convinced that the answer is yes. Major transformations in understanding human life, lifestyles and work modes, economy, trade and technology are needed. Ethics and values are intrinsic to the development of new institutional structures and architectures of politics and finance. In the religious realm long-sightedness has always been important. More than ever before the world now needs extraordinary, long-sighted political leadership.

OUR APPEALS TO THE COPENHAGEN PROCESS

For the Earth, salvation is about more than new technology and green economy. Salvation is about the inner life of human beings. Life without hope is detrimental to human existence. The peoples of this beautiful precious planet need to dialogue about what it means to live together, with global empathy in a global village. Religions can contribute to this in a decisive way.

As people from world religions, we urge governments and international organisations to prepare and agree upon a comprehensive climate strategy for the Copenhagen Agreement. This strategy must be ambitious enough to keep climate change below 2° Celsius, and to distribute the burden in an equitable way in accordance with the principles of common but differentiated responsibility and respective capabilities. Greenhouse Development Rights offers one concrete model of such burden sharing. We urge all actors concerned to find politically acceptable tools to realize this.

The Copenhagen Agreement must counteract misuse of land, of forests, and of farmland, using creative incentives for landowners, users and indigenous communities to manage growing forests as carbon sinks.

We ask the global political leadership for:

· Rapid and large emission cuts in the rich world. Developed countries, especially those in Europe and North America, must lead the way. In the developed countries emissions should be reduced by at least 40 per cent by 2020 and 90 per cent by 2050 against 1990 levels.

· Binding cuts for the rich world on top of their domestic obligations. According to the principles of responsibility and capability countries should pay for international cuts in addition to their own domestic initiatives. These payments should be obligatory, rather than voluntary.

· Measurable, verifiable and reportable mitigation actions by developing countries, especially countries with fast growing economies.

· Massive transfers and sharing of important technology. All countries must encourage and facilitate the sharing of technology that is intrinsically important to reducing emissions. Developing countries must have viable and technologically responsible opportunities to provide for their populations.

· Economic incentives for developing countries to foster cleaner development on a national scale.

· Adaptation to climate change. According to the same principles of responsibility and capability, countries must ensure that poor and vulnerable communities are empowered and supported. Adaptation to climate change must not fail for want of money or other resources.


HUMILITY, RESPONSIBILITY – AND HOPE!

We urge political and religious leaders to bear responsibility for the future of our planet and the living conditions and habitat preservation of new generations, assured in this of support and cooperation from the faith traditions of the world. The climate crisis is a fundamental spiritual question for the survival of humanity on planet Earth. At the same time, we know that the world has never before been more capable of creating sustainable development. Humanity possesses the knowledge and technology. Popular commitment to doing what can and must be done is growing.

We are challenged to review the values, philosophies, beliefs and moral concepts which have shaped and driven our behaviours and informed our dysfunctional relationship with our natural environment.
We commit ourselves to taking and sharing responsibility for providing moral leadership within our various faith traditions and for others who so desire. We call upon all who have influence over the shaping of both intellect and spirit, to commit themselves to a profound reorientation of humanity’s self-understanding and of the world, whereby we acknowledge our estrangement and henceforth strive to live in harmony with Nature and one another.
We offer the gift of our various faiths as a source of empowerment for developing sustainable) lifestyles and patterns of consumption. We undertake this mission in a spirit of humility, responsibility, faith and urgency.
Now is the time to mobilise people and nations.
As people of different faiths, we make these commitments:

· To inform and inspire people in our own religious and cultural contexts to take responsibility for and to implement effective measures

· To challenge political and business leaders where we live and work to develop comprehensive strategies and action

· To focus on the struggle against global warming and draw upon our innermost religious convictions about the meaning of life. This commitment is a deeply spiritual question concerning justice, peace and hopes for a future in love and solidarity with all human beings and the whole of creation.

As religious leaders and teachers, we want to counteract a culture of fear with a culture of hope. We want to face the climate challenge with defiant optimism to highlight the core principles of all major sacred traditions of the world: justice, solidarity and compassion. We want to encourage the best science and political leadership. We commit our communities to fostering a spirit of joy and hope in relation to the greatest gift given to us all - the gift of life!








SIGNATORIES TO THE UPPSALA INTERFAITH CLIMATE MANIFESTO

Ms Charanjit AjitSingh, Sikh, Great Britain
Actively involved in interfaith dialogue for three decades

Dr Kezevino Aram, Hindu, India
Director of Shanti Ashram, in Coimbatore, India

The Revd Sally Bingham, Christian, USA
Director of The Regeneration Project / Interfaith Power and Light Campaign

Father Dr John T. Brinkman, M.M., Christian, Japan
Historian of religions whose work has particular reference to East Asia

The Rt Revd and Rt Hon Richard Chartres, Christian, Great Britain
Bishop of London since 1996

Father John Chryssavgis, Christian, USA
Representing the Ecumenical Patriarch, Constantinople

Dr Mawil Izzie Dien, Muslim, Great Britain
Senior Lecturer in Islamic Studies, University of Wales, Lampeter, UK

Prof. Larbi Djeradi, Muslim, Algeria
University of Mostaghanem, Algeria

Sheikh Ahmad Badr al-Din Hassoun, Muslim, Syria
Grand Mufti of Syria

Prof. Xiaoxin He, Daoist, China
Head of ARC China Program

Sheikha Amina al-Jerrahi, Muslim, Mexico
Master of the Halveti Jerrahi Sufi Order, Mexico City

His Eminence Metropolitan John of Pergamon, Christian, Greece
Representing the Ecumenical Patriarch, Constantinople

Mr Tore Johnsen, Saami/Christian, Norway
Pastor and leader of the Sami Church Council in Norway

The Very Revd Colin Jones, Christian, South Africa,
Trustee at Desmond Tutu Peace Centre and member of the Tällberg Foundation team

Ms Bernie T. Keldermans, Christian, Republic of Pelau
Environmental scientist at the forefront of the national campaign to protect the islands



The Very Revd Leonid Kishkovsky, Christian, USA
Director of External Affairs of the Orthodox Church in America

Prof. Oren R. Lyons, Turtle Clan, Onondaga Nation, Six Nations
Faithkeeper of the Turtle Clan, member of the Onondaga. Nation Council of Chiefs of the Six Nations

Prof. Dr J.N.K.Mugambi, Christian, Kenya
Africa representative, WCC Working Group on Climate Change

The Rt Revd Sofie Petersen, Christian, Greenland
Member of the Central Committee of the World Council of Churches

Prof. Rosemary Radford Ruether, Christian, USA
A pioneer in the area of feminist theology in North America

Mr M. Abdus Sabur, Bangkok, Muslim, Thailand
Secretary General of AMAN, Asian Muslim Action Network

The Rt Revd Thomas Samuel, Christian, India
Bishop of the Church of South India, Madhya Kerala Diocese

Rabbi Awraham Soetendorp, Jewish, The Netherlands
Dutch leader of the Reformed Jewish congregation in the Hague

The Ven. Bhikku Khy Sovanratana, Buddhist, Cambodia
Personal advisor to the Buddhist Supreme Patriarch in Cambodia

Prof. Hava Tirosh-Samuelson, Jewish, USA
Professor of History at Arizona State University, USA

The Ven. Bhiksuni Chuehman Shih, Buddhist, Taiwan
Thervada Buddhism Coordinator at the Fo Guang Shan monastery

Prof. Parichart Suwanbubbha, Buddhist, Thailand
Professor of Comparative Religion and Ethical Studies at Mahidol University

Rabbi Arthur Waskow, Jewish, USA
Has developed a theology and practice of eco-Judaism. Director for the Shalom Centre

The Most Revd Anders Wejryd, Christian, Sweden
Archbishop of Uppsala, Primate of the Church of Sweden

Prof. Liu Xiaogan, Daoist, Hong Kong
Professor of Philosophy at the Chinese University of Hong Kong

05/11/2008 10:06

My Faith and our World

"My Faith and our World" - Faiths in Sussex Programme
Worth Abbey 2-6 PM, Sunday 19 October 2008

Driving to Worth Abbey was a celebration of autumn:
The leaves, red, yellow and gold, glistening in the sunlight.
As we arrived, Nigel Tomsett was welcoming participants
at the parking lot; Ian Lawton was taking registrations and
giving name tags in the entrance hall, and Heather Tomsett
was providing a welcome cup of tea.

At 2:30, Father Paul Fleetwood welcomed us in the Unity Room,
on behalf of Abbot Christopher. Many of us had heard Abbot
Christopher that morning as he spoke on BBC Radio South about
his new book on HAPPINESS.

Peter Brown from "Faith in Worthing" ably chaired the opening panel.

The first speaker was Shaykh Ismail Yusuf, Imam of Hastings.
Trained at the Muslim College of London, he opened his presentation
by telling us "Rightousness is not involved in facing this direction or
that direction." To live rightly is to do justice nd mercy. To keep
faith in God and the Holy Books. And in Islam, to perform the
"pillars" of prayer, pilgrimage, fasting, and giving.

Rabbi Charles Wallach of Shaarei Shalom Synagogue in Brighton and
Hove told us the story of the man who asked Rabbi Hillel to tell him
the essence of the Torah while standing on one leg. Rabbi Hillel said,
"What is hateful to you, do not do to others."

Barrney Leith of the Bahai National Spiritual Assembly gave us a brief
history of the Bahai faith from its founding in Iran in the 19th Century.
"The Bahai faith affirms human beings as manifestations of God."
To Bahais, "All mankind is one family."

As discussion opening, Vivenne (organiser of interfaith events in London),
asked a challenging question, "Is there an aspect of your faith you disagree
with?" Rabbi Wallach asked her for clarification. She said, "For example,
I am a Christian, but I don't believe Jesus is God." The Rabbi told of Jews
who don't believe, but who support the Jewish Community. Also, he said,
that when he is among "Ultra-Orthodox Jews," he tries to observe their
customs. But in his own synagogue he does not follow such strict practice.

Shaykh Yusuf told us, "The Holy Quran says that when God created the
world, humanity was like a baby." The early prophets gradually built
the temple of scripture. Then Mohammed came and laid the final brick.
*******************
It was time for tea, and wonderous cakes, apple, ginger and chocolate.
Thanks to all who provided this bounty.

We returned to Unity Hall for the Young Adult Panel. As Nigel Tomsett
wrote after the meeting, "Who ever got the young people for the panel
please pass on our thanks? They showed such enthusiasm and knowledge
and were so well prepared for their talk. All together a great day hosted as usual
by the abbey with such efficiency and love. Paul, Peter and Ian please pass our
thanks to your groups."

The young adults were Adib Farid, Bahai from Brighton, Adrian & Lisa, from
the Elmgrove Community in Brighton, and Mr. Inti Kahn, Muslim, who gave us
his thanks at the end, saying, "Whoever does not thank people,does not thank God."

The afternoon closed as the 44 or so of us stood in a circle, and shared
the familiar words of the Muslim Poet, Rumi,
"Come, come whoever you are, wanderer worshipper, lover of leaving.
Ours is no caravan of despair, come, yet again come."

As part of the STAND UP AND TAKE ACTION on poverty weekend, all were asked
to consider, fasting, or eating only a banana for lunch one day, and giving the money
saved to some cause like UNICEF. On United Nations Day, I will join with many
others in doing that. On BBC Southern Counties Radio, at 8 AM on 19 October,
I gave the "thought for the day" below.

REMINDER - the next meeting of the Faiths in Sussex Committee,
Monday, 27 October, 7:30 PM, at Worth Abbey
Thought for the Day, BBC Southern Counties Radio
This week I read a headline which said,
"Billion go hungry as rich countries fail to pay up."

What can I do? Each week, I have a banana day:
One "fair trade" banana for breakfast, another for lunch.
It helps keep my weigh down.
It reminds me that I eat to live, not live to eat.

I learned the practice from Buddhists in Japan,
who skip one meal each week and give the money saved to charity.

I wrote suggesting that Churches promote "skip one meal."
A colleague replied that she did not believe in "tokenism" and would not
support "band-aids" like "skipping a meal."

Instead, I find it like the white wristband I wear, which says,
"make poverty history." The wristband will not cure poverty.
But it does help cure the poverty of my soul.

When the market is down and pensions are declining,
we can do something.
This October, will you observe One World Week
by eating a fair trade banana? Instead of lunch? .
Will you give the money saved to some cause
like UNICEF?

During the last Great Depression, the Japanese Christian Kagawa wrote:
"Penniless,
for a while I can live.
But it breaks my heart to know
I cannot give."
Peace and love, Richard Boeke

Conference of the World Fellowship of Interreligious Councils in Cochin

WFIRC 2008 ASSEMBLY

Spirituality and the Environment

Marcus Braybrooke.



Your honour, revered leaders, brothers and sisters, thank you for honouring me by this invitation to speak.

I am delighted to be in Kochi again and to have the opportunity to participate in another Assembly of the World Federation of Inter-religious Councils. I am sure you will all join me in expressing our appreciation to Fr Albert Nambiaparambil, and those who have worked with him, for bringing us all together and in voicing our thanks to him for a life devoted to building interfaith fellowship.

I personally, as a Christian, owe a great deal to India’s rich spiritual heritage. Over forty years ago I studied at Madras Christian College. I learned from Hinduism that the Mystery of the Divine is more wonderful than any names by which we address the Holy. This helped me discover the Christian mystical tradition, which in the sixties was largely hidden. The great Mosques of North India deepened my sense of the transcendent glory of God. Later, visiting the Golden Temple, I became more aware of how precious all our scriptures are to us. I could speak of the influence of Mahatma Gandhi and of Buddhism in making me aware, as Jesus also showed, that any real change can only come by non-violent means. I could go on, but my first point is that far from diluting our particular faith, our interfaith fellowship is spiritually enriching and, as C.F. Andrews said, it makes us more aware of the universal compassion of the Divine.
Interfaith sharing is also enriching as our personal friendships grow and the importance of this needs to be emphasised at a time when religious differences are misused to foment hatred and violence. Our interfaith friendships ‘bind us together in love’ and in an affection in which our religious labels become irrelevant. This was vividly emphasised to us on Vivekananda’s rock on the day before the 1993 WFIRC Assembly. We had only just arrived in India and as were shown round Mary - who asks me to send her greetings to her many interfaith friends here - felt quite faint. Various people offered to help and it was a Baha’i who pushed us to front of the queue onto the ferry. Then, when we got off it, a Hindu drove us to the hotel. About an hour later, there was a knock on the door and there if I remember aright, was Mrs Meher Master Moos with an envelope in her hand. ‘I think you dropped this on the rock. Do you want it?’ It contained our tickets, our passports, and our money. ‘Yes, thank you, we certainly do need it.’

But, an old man’s privilege, allow me one more memory. At Madras Christian College, I went with some other students – a Catholic from Sri Lanka and a Muslim from Hyderabad to help at a Leprosy Clinic. The doctor was a Saivite. There I learned what is the deepest reason for our interfaith endeavours: that we should overcome past prejudice and misunderstanding and join together in the service of the poor. Each child who dies of hunger or of a curable disease is evidence of our failure and the failure of our religions to serve God – of whatever name – in the way that God most desires.

This too is why not only faiths should come together but also why all who give time and energy to the various interfaith groups – be they local, national or international – also need to co-operate. This is why the International Interfaith Centre was set up in Oxford fifteen years ago. The interfaith movement is bigger than any organisation. There is more than enough for us all to do and we shall be more effective in the changes for which we pray if we see ourselves as partners. It is this that IION – the International Interfaith Organisations Network - exists to encourage. We will be enriched in our discussions as we learn of what all of you are doing and I hope we can contribute to this important gathering. Thank you for welcoming us. And our IION meeting here is a sign that we take environmental issues seriously. Many of us wished in any case to accept the kind invitation to the WFIRC meeting, but by having the IION meeting at the same time – we have halved our carbon footprint – so thank you for your hospitality.

What I want to suggest tonight is that we need nothing less than a spiritual revolution if we are to do justice to our responsibilities to the environment. I said this in a World Congress of Faiths ‘Interfaith Celebration of Animals’ a couple of weeks ago and then next day read these words by Chandra Muzzafar of Just International, who would like to have been here: ‘The solutions … require an unprecedented paradigm shift in the way in which we look at ourselves, at others, and at the planet we inhabit.’ [1]

Care of the environment is central to our concern for social justice. Droughts, which are linked to climate change, are one cause of the current food crisis. The likely rise in sea levels will endanger the poor who live in areas most exposed to flooding. Moreover the richer countries consume more of the world’s resources and their carbon footprints are those of giants, if not dinosaurs. These are issues that, no doubt, the panels will be discussing. But these issues point beyond themselves to our need to discover or recover a truly spiritual relationship to Nature

Recently I went to Eilat in the South of Israel on the Red Sea, where there is a coral reef and an aquarium that allows you to go under water and observe the amazing variety of brightly coloured fish. I felt part of the ocean life and recognised again that every creature - ‘water-beings, fire-beings, plants, animals’ (to quote from the Jain scriptures) from the simplest to the most complex share the wonderful gift of Life.

My friend and great spiritual teacher Donald Nicholl – some of you may know his book Holiness - wrote of his experience one morning climbing down the steep path into the Grand Canyon in America. Seeing the different layers of fossils, he said, ‘You feel a true kinship with all those beings knowing that you and they trace their existence back to the first moment when life appeared on earth. And then you start to reflect that the very eyes with which you are observing these wondrous evidences are the result of millions of years of striving for light… We are who we are thanks to the striving and sacrifice of innumerable living beings who have helped to make possible the life we enjoy.’

We are part of a chain of being that stretches back for millions of years and we need to recognise our interdependence with all life and our need to respect and care for it. This truth, as you well know and could illustrate, is to be found in all the great religious traditions. It is also affirmed in publications of the United Nations Environment Programme. [2]

Prophetic thinkers such as Teilhard de Chardin and Sri Aurobindo, however, go further and have emphasised that the story of evolution is a growth in consciousness, which in human beings becomes self-consciousness. The pattern of sacrifice, of life through death, which in the Natural world is involuntary, now becomes a matter of choice. As Jesus said, ‘He who loses his life will save it.’

Are we willing to lay down our lives for others? Too often we refuse and history is the repeated tragic story of killing rather than being killed. But spiritual teachers, such as Jesus who chose the way of the Cross, and the Buddha or Mahatma Gandhi and many others who preached non-violence, teach us that sacrifice is the way to life. The Environmental Crisis is not a problem out there – for World Leaders and the World Bank to solve – but a direct question to each one of us about our own spirituality. Do we reflect in the way we live, in the choices we make, in our awareness of our oneness with people of other faiths and races, in our care for animals and our respect for nature, this reverence for all life? Are we living icons of the truth that life - all life - is precious, because it is a gift of God?

It is fascinating that mystics who plumb the depths of the Spirit and those who have explored outer space have the same message for us.

Pictures of the earth taken from space have been called a symbol for our age. Astronauts David Brown and Kalpana Chawla, who both died in the Columbia spacecraft disaster, spoke of the magical beauty of our planet as seen from space. ‘If I’d been born in space,’ David Brown said, ‘I would desire to visit beautiful Earth more than I ever yearned to visit space. It’s a wonderful planet.’ Kalpana Chawla said, ‘The first view of Earth is magical… in such a small planet, with such a small ribbon of life, so much goes on. You get the feeling that I need to work extraordinarily hard along with other human beings to respect that.’ [3]

Mystics who have explored inner space proclaim the same message of unity. The French Jesuit and palaeontologist Teilhard de Chardin said, ‘I live at the heart of a single, unique Element, the Centre of the Universe, and present in each part of it; personal Love and cosmic Power.’ [4] The American environmental theologian Fr. Thomas Berry has written ‘We are earthlings. The Earth is our origin, our nourishment, our support, our guide. Our spirituality itself is Earth-derived.’ [5]

Awareness of our oneness with all life and with the Source of Being should inspire in us the compassion and energy that will ensure that all people live in peace and that no one goes hungry and that the Natural world is protected for future generations and that all beings are valued and their right to life is respected. To share in such a spiritual revolution is today’s exciting and challenging call to all people of faith. As the environmentalist Jane Goodall says, ‘We are moving toward the ultimate destiny of our species – a state of compassion and love.’ [6]


Rev Dr Marcus Braybrooke is President of the World Congress of Faiths, Patron of the International Interfaith Centre and Co-Founder of the Three Faiths Forum. He is the author of over forty books including A Heart for the World and What Can We learn from Hinduism and What can We learn from Islam. He edited the anthology 1,000 World Prayers.


NOTES
[1]Chandra Muzaffar in Just Commentary,Vol 8, No 8, August 2008., p. 1
[2] See for example Earth and Faith,
[3] Quoted in Marcus Braybrooke, 365 Meditations for a Peaceful Heart and a Peaceful World, Godsfield , 2004, p. 380
[4] Teilhard de Chardin, quoted in ‘The Cosmology of Religions’, p. 97
[5] Spirituality of the Earth’ in Celebrating Earth Holy Days, Ed. Susan J Clark, Crossroad, 1992
[6] Jane Goodall, Reason for Hope, Warner Books, 1999, p. 267.

Fifth WCF Interfaith Celebration of Animals

Fifth WCF Interfaith Celebration of Animals.
Sermon at Golders Green Unitarian Church
By Rev Dr Marcus Braybrooke


First, I would like to thank Golders Green Unitarians for their hospitality this afternoon and especially Revd Feargus O’Connor for taking so much care in arranging the service. Thanks to all the readers for their inspiring contributions

Animal Welfare has long been a concern of the World Congress of Faiths. In fact a whole session was devoted to this subject at a conference as long ago as 1951. Many of us will remember that Edward Carpenter, who was Dean of Westminster and President of the World Congress of Faiths was also an active campaigner foranimal welfare
Are you a man or a mouse? If you look at our DNA, I gather there is not much difference. This should remind us that we are part of animal world and not masters of it. As the Qur’an puts it:
No creature is there crawling on the earth,
no bird flying with its wings,
but they are nations like yourselves. (6, 38)

Accepting the theory of evolution does not necessarily lead to the atheistic conclusion that Richard Dawkins was recently advocating on television. For many people of faith, the theory of evolution has confirmed the Psalmist’s words that ‘we are fearfully and wonderfully made.’ (Ps 139, 13). We are part of a chain of being that stretches back for millions of years and we need to recognise our interdependence with all life.

Mary, who is very sorry not to be here, and I are just back from a wonderful pilgrimage to the Holy Land. Some of you will be interested that we spent our first night at Neve Shalom/Wahat Al Salam – a Jewish/Arab village that I know you as a church support. We also went to Eilat in the South, where there is a coral reef and an aquarium that allows you to go under water and observe the amazing variety of brightly coloured fish. I felt part of the ocean life and recognised again that every creature - ‘water-beings, fire-beings, plants, animals’ (to quote from the Jain scriptures) from the simplest to the most complex share the wonderful gift of Life.

My friend and great spiritual teacher Donald Nicholl – some of you may know his book Holiness - wrote of his experience one morning climbing down the steep path into the Grand Canyon in America. Seeing the different layers of fossils, ‘You feel a true kinship with all those beings knowing that you and they trace their existence back to the first moment when life appeared on earth. And then you start to reflect that the very eyes with which you are observing these wondrous evidences are the result of millions of years of striving for light… We are who we are thanks to the striving and sacrifice of innumerable living beings who have helped to make possible the life we enjoy.’

You may yourself have had a moment when you felt part of all that lives and that all that lives is part of you. Recall, perhaps, Vaughan Williams’ ever popular ‘A Lark Ascending.’ The mystic Forest Reid wrote nearly a hundred years ago of a time when, he said, ‘I lay down on my back in the warm dry moss and listened to the skylark singing… It was a passionate joyous singing. It was a leaping, exultant ecstasy… the whole world seemed to be within me.’ It is the sense of Presence of which William Wordsworth wrote. As a Native American said, ‘When w elook around, we see part of our Mother Nature everywhere.’

The story of evolution as writers such as Teilhard de Chardin and Sri Aurobindo have emphasised is a growth in consciousness, which in human beings becomes self-consciousness. The pattern of sacrifice, of life through death, which in the Natural world is involuntary, now becomes a matter of choice. As Jesus said, ‘He who loses his life will save it.’

Are we willing to lay down our lives for others? Too often we refuse and history is the repeated tragic story of killing rather than being killed. But spiritual teachers, such as Jesus who chose the way of the Cross, and the Buddha or Mahatma Gandhi who preached non-violence recognised that sacrifice is the way to live.

That sacrifice, happily, for many of us does not involve martyrdom, but it is the choice to live for others – the parent caring for the child, the child tending frail elderly parents. There is an African saying that we look after our children till they have their full set of teeth, so that they can look after us when we have no teeth.

And we should practice this way of respect, non-violence and self-giving care in our dealings with all living beings and with Nature itself. The dangers of global warming and environmental damage require nothing less than a spiritual revolution.

Self-consciousness is both a precious gift and a great responsibility. Because we have choice, can help to shape the future of weal or woe. Fr Thomas Berry, a leading environmental theologian, has explained that ‘the universe is now experienced as an irreversible time-developmental process. Not so much a cosmos as a cosmogenesis, by which I think he means the world is not ready made but still in the making. Indeed the first verse of the book of Genesis in the Bible which is usually translated ‘In the beginning God created the world’ can also be translated, ‘When God began to create the world.’ We are part of an on-going cosmic process which each of us in our little ways can help to shape. As we become transformed by Divine Love and reflect that love not only in our dealings with other people but with all life we are in harmony with the Divine purpose.

Pictures of the earth taken from space have been called a symbol for our age. Astronauts David Brown and Kalpana Chawla, who both died in the Columbia spacecraft disaster, spoke of the magical beauty of our planet as seen from space. ‘If I’d been born in space,’ David Brown said, ‘I would desire to visit beautiful Earth more than I ever yearned to visit space. It’s a wonderful planet.’ Kalpana Chawla said, ‘The first view of Earth is magical… in such a small planet, with such a small ribbon of life, so much goes on. You get the feeling that I need to work extraordinarily hard along with other human beings to respect that.’[1]

Mystics who have explored inner space proclaim the same message of unity. The French Jesuit and palaeontologist Teilhard de Chardin said, ‘I live at the heart of a single, unique Element, the Centre of the Universe, and present in each part of it; personal Love and cosmic Power.’[2] Fr. Thomas Berry has written ‘We are earthlings. The Earth is our origin, our nourishment, our support, our guide. Our spirituality itself is Earth-derived.’[3] As the environmentalist Jane Goodall says, ‘We are moving toward the ultimate destiny of our species – a state of compassion and love.’[4]

It is an awareness of our oneness with all life and with the Source of Being that will inspire our compassion and energy to rediscover the way to live in harmony with Nature, ensuring that it is protected for future generations and that all beings are valued and their right to life is respected. To share in shaping such an earth community in which all life is held precious is today’s exciting and challenging call to all people of faith.

[1] Quoted in Marcus Braybrooke, 265 Meditations for a Peaceful Heart and a Peaceful World, Godsfield , 2004, p. 380

[2] Teilhard de Chardin, quoted in ‘The Cosmology of Religions’, p. 97,

[3] Thomas Berry quoted in ‘The Cosmology of Religions’, p. 98. See also, Thomas Berry, ‘The Spirituality of the Earth’ in Celebrating Earth Holy Days, Ed. Susan J Clark,Crossroad, 1992, pp. 69-82.

[4] Jane Goodall, Reason for Hope, Warner Books, 1999, p. 267.

Religion, Spirituality and the Secular

Marcus and Mary Braybrooke both spoke at the joint meeting of the Alister Hardy Society and the World Congress of Faiths today.








Pictured here are some of the people at the meeting - from left to right
Edward Bailey, Mary Braybrooke, Marcus Braybrooke, Marianne Rankin, John Franklin and Rowena Rudkin





Marcus' and Mary's talks are on the WCF website at http://www.worldfaiths.org/articles.htm

Pictures from Interfaith High Religious Leaders meeting

These pictures were sent from Mr Nawab Khan of Kuwait News Agency (KUNA).









Delegation of European Muslim at Brussles on Monday 5^th May 2008 From left to right: Imam Dr Abduljalil Sajid Vice President and International Secretary of World Congress of Faiths (WCF) ; Muhamed Bechari Président of French National Muslims ; Dr Mustafa Ceric Grand Mufti of Bosnia ; Ayatullah Moezi of Islamic Center Media Vale London.











Second Picture is of a Press Conference where the President of the European Commission, José Manuel Barroso, President of the European Council, Janez Janša, and the President of the European Parliament, Hans-Gert Pöttering. addressed the Press group with High Level European Religious Leaders

Presidents of Commission, Council and Parliament discuss climate change and reconciliation with European faith leaders

On the initiative of the President of the European Commission, José Manuel Barroso, an informal dialogue took place on 5 May in the headquarters of the European Commission, bringing together around twenty high-level representatives of Christianity, Judaism and Islam in Europe. The meeting was co-chaired by European Commission President Barroso, Slovenian Prime Minister and current President of the European Council, Janez Janša, and the President of the European Parliament, Hans-Gert Pöttering. This year's meeting focused on two major challenges facing the European Union: Climate Change and Reconciliation.

This was the fourth annual meeting with religious leaders and the second involving the Presidents of the three EU institutions. The initiative was launched by President Barroso in 2005.

This year, discussions centred around "Climate change: an ethical challenge for all cultures". President Barroso declared: "Climate change obliges all of us to take urgent action. Each part of civil society must contribute to ensuring a sustainable future of our planet. Thanks to their outreach and role in our societies, religions and communities of belief are well placed to make a valuable contribution in mobilising them for a sustainable future. Let's unite in our common endeavour and prove that the preachers of a clash of civilisations are wrong."

The President of the European Council, Janez Janša, insisted: "The environment is not only natural but also a sacred place. Community and loyalty between man, nature and the Creator is a basic principle of Judaism, Christianity and Islam alike. Climate change requires us to rethink how we channel imagination, ingenuity and entrepreneurship into creating a world, free of dependence on fossil fuels, and yet prosperous and connected as never before. This would not mean that we should get away with what we have achieved. We should only rethink our achievements and look at them from a different point of view."

As 2008 is the European Year of Intercultural Dialogue, the high-level meeting is a welcome opportunity to focus also on the topic of "Reconciliation through intercultural and inter-faith dialogue".

EP President Pöttering said "Intercultural dialogue is a key instrument to building bridges between people and to safeguarding peace based on mutual respect. Intercultural dialogue therefore is also an important contribution to the European Union's relations with its neighbouring countries, in particular in the Mediterranean region".

Participants of the meeting shared their views on the two main themes and agreed on the essential role of religions and communities of belief in tackling our common challenges and mobilising our societies for a sustainable future. Participants demonstrated their willingness and commitment to continue this important dialogue, among themselves and with the European institutions.

Commissioners Benita Ferrero-Waldner and Ján Figel' as well as European Parliament Vice President Mario Mauro also took part in the religious leaders' meeting.

ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING 2008

At our AGM in the Sternberg Centre in Finchley on 7 May we heard about plans for the future of WCF.
Our new Treasurer and IT specialist Pejman Khojasteh has great ideas for this website.
Please let us know how you would like to see it improved.
As well as a new Treasurer, we welcomed two new members to the committee - Martha Besser and Revd Jonathan Barker. Their information will appear on the information page soon.
Our Annual Younghusband Lecture was in two parts - by Rabbi Dr Tony Bayfield, and Revd Dr Marcus Braybrooke on the subject of 'The Delusion of Favouritism'. More information will be published on the website soon.
We also said farewell, at least for the time being, to Carmel Momen and David Storey, who are finding other things to do.
We also paid tribute to Vinod Kapashi's work as Treasurer for the past few years - he is staying on the committee as a valuable contact for Hinduism and Jainism.