Interfaith Climate Justice: Reception, Green Attica, Parliament of the World's Religions

Interfaith Climate Week Reception, Sept. 25

Interfaith Gathering to Share Climate Change Resources

Please join us for an informal gathering for faith-based organizations to share information about their climate change programs and activities. Refresh-ments will be served.

Interfaith Climate Week Reception

Tuesday, Sept. 25, 6:00-7:30pm

Union Theological Seminary

120th Street and Broadway, NYC

The event is co-sponsored by the Center for Earth Ethics and Parliament of the World's Religions, with partner organizations the Bhumi Project, the Committee of Religious NGOs at the UN, the Forum on Religion and Ecology at Yale, the Interfaith Center of New York, the Temple of Understanding, and the United Religions Initiative (URI).

More information on the Interfaith Climate Week Reception >>

Toward a Greener Attica:

Interfaith Climate Justice

Report from the Saronic Islands, Greece, June 5-8, 2018

In June, the Temple of Understanding's Executive Director Alison Van Dyk and Representative to the United Nations Grove Harris were honored to participate in the Green Attica Symposium . The symposium brought together 200 diverse thought leaders, including theologians, scientists, political and business leaders, activists, and journalists from around the globe.

A special moment: Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew releases doves.

Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew of the Eastern Orthodox Church is famous for seeing environmentalism as a spiritual responsibility and has hosted such symposia since 1996. Settings have included the Adriatic Sea, the Amazon River, the Arctic Ocean, and the Mississippi River. His environmental writings set the tone for the event:

If human beings were to treat one another's personal property the way they treat the natural environment, we would view that behavior as anti-social and illegal. We would expect legal sanctions and even compensation. When will we learn that to commit a crime against the natural world is also a sin?

At the Symposium, the Temple of Understanding:

convened a small round table with water justice expert Maude Barlow and other participants towards more effective actions after the Symposium
called for ethical guidelines to constrain economic growth, as part of the Symposium's inclusion of corporate responsibility
promoted the Water Justice Guide

Alison and Grove also visited a number of Greek religious and heritage sites, including goddess temples at Delphi and Aegina.

View our full Green Attica report and photos >>

The Temple of Understanding at the

2018 Parliament of the World's Religions

PoWR to be held in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, Nov. 1-7, 2018

The Temple of Understanding is thrilled to be presenting four programs, collaborating on another, and having our representative to the UN speak at still two more programs at the upcoming Parliament of the World's Religions . This will be the second Parliament where we have worked to bring Dr. Vandana Shiva, with her prophetic wisdom combining science and activism towards earth democracy.

Religion and the Work of the United Nations, Friday 2:15pm, Room 714A
Women of Faith Speak Out: Towards Resetting the Global Moral Compass, Saturday 2:15 pm, Room 718A
Vandana Shiva and Friends on Earth Democracy, Sunday 12:15 pm, Room 701A (collaboration with Dr. Kusumita Pederson of the Interfaith Center of New York)
Seeds and Seedlings, Monday 2:15 pm, Room 701A
Roots of Change: Food Sovereignty, Women and Eco-Justice, Tuesday 6:00 pm, Room 103A

Our UN Representative Grove Harris will also speak during the following sessions:

Are Our Stained Glass Ceilings Cracking Yet? Women and Leadership in the World of Interfaith, Saturday 12:15 pm, Room 718A
Interfaith Engagement: Past, Present, and Future, Tuesday 12:15pm, Room 701A

Additional information on TOU's offerings at the 2018 PoWR >>

18-year-old Environmental Activist Selected

for UN Meeting on Nuclear Disarmament

Kehkashan Basu to Speak at UN High Level Meeting

Report from UNFOLD ZERO:

Ms Basu, who is originally from United Arab Emirates and now lives in Canada, was selected by the President of the UN General Assembly to address the September 26 United Nations High Level Meeting on Nuclear Disarmament as one of the two representatives of global civil society. She states:

The nuclear arms race, in particular, should be halted and the $100 billion global nuclear weapons budget be redirected towards ending poverty, reversing climate change, protecting the oceans, building a sustainable economy and providing basic education and health care for all of humanity...

Instead, the nuclear armed States are squandering resources and keeping their nuclear weapons poised to strike. One mistake would cause a humanitarian disaster, robbing children and youth of their health and future, and maybe even ending civilization as we know it.

Ms. Basu was named as one of Canada's Top 25 Women of Influence for 2018 and was the winner of the 2016 International Children's Peace Prize.