Japan 2011 disaster response
Relief donations to Japan 2011 superquake & tsunami victims
The devastation of North-Eastern Japan’s provinces by the unprecedented earthquake and tsunami occurred shortly before our 2011 Council meeting.
IARF members in several countries spontaneously raised donations of £4,574, which was added to considerable donations made by IARF members in Japan, and given to relief work in Sendai.
Report of IARF Donation to Japan earthquake victims (PDF illustrated, 3 pages)
“Dialogue between religions: Future or past?”
Saturday, October 15, 2011
Amsterdam
(video, Dutch language)
A seminar about the how & why of a dialogue between the religions
(Does this dialogue have a future? How to do the dialogue of the future? )
Speakers included Manuela Kalsky & Bart Brandsma.
The seminar was organized by
- the International Association for Religious Freedom (IARF) Netherlands
- Core Rural Female Trialogue (KLVT)
- Inter Religious Reflection – Dutch Centre forInter-religious and philosophical dialogue (IB NSID)
- United Religions Initiative (URI) Netherlands
- World Conference on Religion & Peace (WCRP) Netherlands
…with the support of Church & World.
2011 Annual General Meeting of India Chapter
@ Adichunchanagiri Mahasamsthama Matt, Mysore Branch
9th October 2011
Please visit the photo set on Flickr.
Ethics, Ecology & the Interdependent Web
19 February 2011 – A conference in Croydon, England, sponsored by the International Association for Religious Freedom and the World Congress of Faiths, and inspired by Datuk Leslie Davidson, who received the 2008 Meredeka Award for his service to the people of Malaysia.
Davidson may have done as much to feed the world as any other human being alive today. Where Jesus provided the loaves and the fishes, Leslie has helped provide cooking oil for billions, while conserving much of the Malaysian rainforest (Datuk is an honour similar to knighthood).
BBC presenter Rev. Peter Owen-Jones opened telling us that Christianity as it is practiced is ruthlessly earnest in being anthropocentric. Christian scripture and ritual is human-centred. Yet we are called to build not just a Habitat for Humanity, but a Habitat for all life: “If we have a loving ecological base for God, this changes the entire way we live.”
Ethics, Ecology and the Interdependent Web – report (PDF).
“Michael Servetus: 500 years”
On 15 January 2011 the UK Chapter celebrated Servetus’s 500th birth anniversary..
“Michael Servetus: 500 years” at Rosslyn Hill Chapel, Hampstead, London 
Jeff Teagle lighting the chalice
Order of service
‘Journey to Compassion’ retreat
The ‘Journey to Compassion’ retreat (with World Congress of Faiths) took place on 8 – 10 March 2011 at the Brahma Kumaris Global Retreat Centre.
36 joined our IARF/WCF retreat near Oxford.
The speaker was Camilla Carr, who spoke on forgiveness. Her book, THE SKY IS ALWAYS THERE, tells the story of her 14 months as a hostage in Chechnya.
Camilla Carr at left
AGM 2011, UK Chapter
Annual General Meeting
12 May Thursday 2011
Dr Williams Library, 14 Gordon Square, London
Rev. Christopher Hudson of Belfast gave an inspired & well-illustrated talk on “Reconciliation & Hope”
He is joining our British IARF Committee.
Interfaith Events in India (May & July 2011)
IARF Council member Dr. Homi Dhalla reports on three interfaith events in India
On May 28, 2011, Dr. Dhalla was invited by the Jain Spiritual leader Acharya Mahashraman to Udaipur. The occasion was an interfaith conference where the representatives of the various religions were invited to speak on “The Role of Religious Leaders in the Promotion of Moral Values”. There was a large audience comprising of about 5,000 people. Dr. Dhalla in his presentation provided a number of examples from the various religious traditions. He referred to the activism that has become common in Asia’s Buddhist societies. Monks and nuns were leaving their quiet monasteries to oppose oppressive rulers, foreign domination or injustice. As far as the Hindu tradition was concerned, he referred to the Swadhyaya Movement initiated by Pandurang Shastri Athavale in 1997. This spiritual movement has become a formidable force as it has spread over 80,000 villages. Christian leaders were vocal enough to criticize the US invasion of Iraq. Noble work is carried out by Christian religious leaders in fighting AIDS in Uganda, also by the eco-evangelists who speak up for the environment in various Christian churches, and the faith-based jail progammes in the US. He also mentioned that Indian religious leaders should be more vocal about problems such as female infanticide, dowry deaths and communal violence.
Dr. Dhalla organized an interfaith “Hindu-Muslim Dialogue” (above) on June 10, 2011 in Mumbai.
Two scholars from each tradition were invited to participate in this dialogue session, which was very well attended as it was open to the public. The national press was also present at the function (report by DNA, June 12, 2011). As the organizer of this programme, he initially made a presentation on the importance of dialogue today. He commenced his talk about the basic principles of dialogue, the various forms of dialogue and the several initiatives which are taking place in different parts of the globe. In the present scenario, there has been emphasis on Christian-Muslim dialogue, which is imperative due to the rise of Islamophobia. Dialogue between these two traditions is taking place in Turkey, Tunisia, Qatar, Bangladesh, the Philippines and the US.
The four panelists spoke about the various measures which would foster better relationship between Hindus and Muslims in the sub-continent. They felt the need to introduce interfaith education at the school level so that children would be aware of the various religious traditions, which would in turn make them more tolerant. The various religious festivals should also be celebrated in schools so that children can know their import. Peace education is another element which could also be introduced in the schools.
Some speakers also spoke about the politicization of religion which is taking place in certain parts of India. Sometimes ignorant masses are mislead and instigated by politicians to create disharmony between Hindus and Muslims. One of the speakers spoke about the similarities in the scriptures of the two traditions. Another speaker emphasized that the main reason for religious conflicts was egoism and greed.
On July 23, 2011, he was invited to the 11th Anniversary Celebrations of Sri Ramanuja Mission Trust in Chennai. He spoke about the importance of corporate social responsibility and the need for industrial houses and multinationals to take up this cause. His paper entitled “CSR is the Soul of the Tata Industrial Empire” was well received, and has been placed on their website.
German Unitarians’ Religious Fellowship General Meeting, 2011
German Unitarians’ Religious Fellowship General Meeting,
Kassel
Pentecost 2011
The German Unitarians held their biennial General Meeting in Kassel over the long
Pentecost weekend, on the subject of “Seeking the Future? Welcome to the New Land”
Please refer to the report by Rev John Clifford.