URI North America

You still have time to join the NA Work Plan Team at the next planning meeting to be held October 24-26 near Boulder, CO. This, the third and final working retreat, will review all the input received to date, develop proposals, and determine a method of garnering CC approval for the final plan.

By Margi Ness, Regional Coordinator

Chaordic evolution is alive and well in the growth of our Region. Both chaos and order have been playing out in recent developments.

After infrequent gatherings over the past few years, three meetings have been held this year to work on a shared agreement for the organization of our Region. In April, a meeting was held in the Colorado Rocky Mountains; in June we moved to the east coast and met with additional representatives of CCs in the Catskill Mountains of New York; and in October we’ll be back in Colorado to meet once again.

On Friday, June 13th, to mark the 100-day countdown to the International Day of Peace on 21 September, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon issued a video message urging that we "need to start planning for it now." (transcript). It is time for our exciting 2008 campaign to begin!

URI members and friend from around the world are invited to attend the first Global Assembly since the 2002 gathering in Rio de Janeiro, this year in Mayapur, India. This is not only a time for acquaintances new and old — it is also a time for the organizational members to meet the new Global Council Trustees, to conduct business in person, to guide the future course of the United Religions Initiative. Please visit the website at www.globalassembly2008.org for all information and forms for the Global Assembly and Meeting of Members 2008 and related meetings.

This CC’s purpose is “to bring people together to build understanding, serve the community, and celebrate diverse faiths and spiritual traditions.” With members from 14 different faiths, San Francisco Interfaith Council strives to actualize harmony among faiths and build community at a local level.

Last year we wrote a few times encouraging URI participation in the UNEP billion trees campaign (1, 2). We're not exactly sure about URI participation, but we do know that the program has been successful — with more than 2 billion trees planted! Thus UNEP is now expanding the program and its goal to 7 billion trees. Read on for more information.

The 2008 - 2011 URI Global Council has been elected. The new trustees for North America are: Susanna McIlwaine (URI Explorers CC), Adelia Sandoval (SARAH CC), and Rebecca Gonzales-Tobias (Raoul Wallenberg Institute CC). Margi Ness shares her congratulations, and thanks to outgoing Trustees, below.

From Audri with the Trail of Dreams: The URI family of Peace Makers is an amazing group. Please join us and become a Peace Partner (A person, organization, business, religious institution, school, and/or organized community of people who believe in and support the purpose of the Trail of Dreams World Peace Walk-A-Long; and who are willing to commit themselves to “WALKING” the talk by being PEACE in action).

The Orange County Human Relations Commission will shortly be holding their 37^th annual awards ceremony, "Honoring outstanding people for their exemplary contributions to human relations in our schools, community and police departments." SARAH CC-organizer Sande Harte has been recognized in the category of Community Leaders.

In the interest of full transparency and accountability, the North American Regional Coordinator has asked that the 2008 Regional Work Plan be posted on the website: 2008 URI-NA Work Plan. This document guides the goals and budget for regional staff and support during the fiscal year. It was produced through close collaboration of staff, Trustees, and CC leaders.