The Academy for Peace 2007 — URI of Henderson County
December 12th, 2006
The URI of Henderson County is once again showing that the interfaith movement can thrive in Appalachia. This group has been a true pioneer in its interfaith programming and support of the URI mission. They work toward peace by “promoting understanding among the religions and spiritual expressions” in their western North Carolina community, and by “cultivating peace inwardly, locally and globally.”
For 2007 they have assembled a program called The Academy for Peace, “designed to provide opportunities for enriching our lives in order to create cultures of peace.” This innovative plan of activities neatly balances experiences of faith, of study and direct dialogue, and of fellowship and service. In other words, experiences of spirit, mind, and body.
They have spread these events throughout the year in such a way that attendees — and organizers — are not required to make a weekly or even monthly commitment to enjoy them. Their Visits to Faith Traditions, Interfaith Dialogue, and a few workshops are thus intertwined and spaced throughout the year.
For those willing to make more of a commitment, they are once again offering an eight week course on non-violent communication. This course, based on the non-violence work of Marshall Rosenberg, was a tremendous success for Henderson County last year. The URI of Charlotte also recently sponsored the course with strong local participation and encouraging results. Another long course will be a month-long study of Deepak Chopra’s book Peace Is the Way, facilitated by a retired Episcopal Bishop.
But their work is not just confined to local activities. In April they will co-host, along with the Interfaith Explorers CC from the DC-area, a “sub-regional” retreat for URI Cooperation Circles from the Southeastern United States, and they have for several years been exemplars of local fundraising for the global good. In addition to raising funds for the URI global support office, they have adopted the Southern Sudan School Project, which is affiliated with the URI of Utah, as a means for connecting their local cultivation of peace with an international effort to restore basic education to parts of war-torn southern Sudan.
Sally Mahé, Director of Organizational Development for the United Religions Initiative, eloquently described my own reaction to their consistently amazing achievements. The Henderson County Cooperation Circle (CC) is “inspiring the URI with the depth and breadth of how [their] CC is fulfilling [its] aspirations, living in peace and helping others to do so.” To the organizers and members of the CC — thank you. Thank you for working to bring a culture of peace, justice, and healing not only to North Carolina but also to the one planet we all share.
The Academy of Peace program can be downloaded from http://www.uri-na.org/docs/academyforpeace2007.pdf.