theology

Nuclear Prayer Day – Hiroshima / Nagasaki Interfaith Peace Gathering

Namaste,

Please join us! For Nuclear Prayer Day – Hiroshima / Nagasaki Interfaith Peace Gathering on Friday, August 5, 2022, from 2:00 pm onwards, both virtually and in-person at Tillman Chapel, Church Center for the United Nations, 777 UN Plaza, New York, NY 10017.

Zoom Meeting ID: 898 4657 1811

Link: us02web.zoom.us/j/89846571811 

Livestream: facebook.com/unitedreligionsinitiative

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CoNGO Notes: For more information on the Committee of Religious NGOs at the United Nations, please visit rngos.wordpress.com. For more information on the NGO Committee on Disarmament, Peace, and Security, please visit ngodisarm.org. For more information on the NGO Committee on Spirituality, Values, and Global Concerns-NY, please visit csvgc-ny.org.

The Fear of “The Great Replacement” and Impact on Society

Thursday, Aug. 18, 2022, 2 PM to 3 PM ET

Join Live via Zoom or Facebook. Please click here to register.

Please join Religions for Peace for a discussion on how the fear of “The Great Replacement” has provided motivation for many heinous attacks on racial and religious minorities and what should be the role of religious communities in dispelling this myth perpetuated by white supremacist groups.

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CoNGO Notes: For more information on the NGO Committee on Social Development, please visit ngosocdev.org. For more information on the Committee of Religious NGOs at the United Nations, please visit rngos.wordpress.com. For more information on the NGO Committee on Spirituality, Values, and Global Concerns-NY, please visit csvgc-ny.org. For more information on the NGO Committee on Education, Learning, and Literacy, please visit facebook.com/NGOCELLatUN

Dispelling Misconceptions & Myths: Faith Actors Advancing Gender Equality & the Empowerment of Women and Girls

Dear friends,

You are warmly invited to an HLPF side event organized by the UN Multi Faith Advisory Council, Dispelling Misconceptions & Myths: Faith Actors Advancing Gender Equality & the Empowerment of Women and Girls.

The event will be held virtually, Thursday 7th July 7:30 – 9:00 EDT.

Please register here!  We hope you will be able to join us.

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CoNGO Notes: For more information on the NGO Committee on the Status of Women-NY, please visit  ngocsw.org. For more information on the Committee of Religious NGOs at the United Nations, please visit rngos.wordpress.com. For more information on the NGO Committee on the Status of Women-Vienna, please visit ngocswvienna.org. For more information on the NGO Committee on the Status of Women-Geneva, please visit ngocsw-geneva.ch. For more information on the NGO Committee on Social Development, please visit ngosocdev.org

Committee of Religious NGOs at the UN (CRNGO) Annual Membership Meeting

Venue: Online and Baha’i International Community (866 UN Plaza, Suite 120)

RSVP required: https://bic-org.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZEvf-uorDkuH9GvRCtVkcF-JfCsuk8EOTY5

As we emerge from a pandemic-induced hiatus during which the Committee of Religious NGOs at the UN (CRNGO) largely carried out its activities through the CRNGO Climate Working Group, the CRNGO Bureau invites its members to come back together, in community, in a moment of reflection, to be together for its first Annual Membership Meeting in three years. 

The event will be hosted in a hybrid format in recognition of the fact that the pandemic is still ongoing, and each individual’s comfort level with gathering in physical space is different. 

The purpose and objective of the Annual Membership Meeting is to help foster community and facilitate learning and interaction among religious and spiritual NGOs working at the United Nations as well as those interested in engaging with the UN.

The Annual Membership Meeting will open with welcoming remarks by members of the Bureau, followed by a consultative process where participants are invited to reflect on how their organizations have successfully engaged with the UN in the past three years, and share their perspectives on some of the challenges to creating change at the UN.

At the meeting, annual membership dues will be collected, the results of the election of the new Bureau will be presented and it will launch a process to create our 2022 to 2024 programme of work, striving to deepen the Committee’s religious community engagement with the UN. 

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CoNGO Notes: The Committee of Religious NGOs at the United Nations is a Substantive Committee of the Conference of NGOs in Consultative Relationship with the United Nations. Likewise, for more information on the NGO Committee on Spirituality, Values, and Global Concerns, please visit csvgc-ny.org.

Two years after the death of George Floyd: Antiracism, #BLM and the United Nations

As people continue to challenge the systemic racism that has devalued the lives of Black and Brown people globally, many are asking the question: why do some of these tragic events spark a stronger call for change than others?

Floyds murder also revived the concept of antiracism. The webinar will explore, in practice, what it means to be antiracist. Participants will also be invited to reflect on the role played by Christian nationalism in reinforcing white supremacy and racial subjugation, thereby fueling racism, xenophobia and racial discrimination.

As a follow up of its 1 June 2021 webinar marking the 100th anniversary of the Tulsa Race Massacre, the World Council of Churches Commission of the Churches on International Affairs will host this webinar on the sides of the 30th session of the UN Working Group of Experts on People of African Descent, which will be taking place in New York city, USA, from 23 to 27 May 2022.

Speakers:

Moderator: Rev. Chebon Kernell, ordained elder in the Oklahoma Indian Missionary Conference

  • Gaynel D. Curry, member of the United Nations Permanent Forum on People of African Descent
  • Rt. Rev. Elizabeth A. Eaton, presiding bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America
  • Rev. Dr. Leah Gunning Francis, vice president for Academic Affairs and dean of the Faculty at Christian Theological Seminary in Indianapolis
  • Prof. Gay McDougall, member of the United Nations Committee for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD)

Register here to join this webinar live on Wednesday, 25 May, 3:30 pm CEST / 9:30am EST.

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CoNGO Notes: For more information on the Committee of Religious NGOs at the United Nations, please visit rngos.wordpress.com. For more information on the NGO Committee on Social Development, please visit ngosocdev.org. For more information on the NGO Committee on Human Rights, please email the co-chairs at bobbinassar@yahoo.com or bknotts@uua.org. 

[book launch] Contemporary ecotheology, climate justice and environmental stewardship in world religions

Seasonal Greetings from Switzerland,

On behalf of the World Council of Churches’ Economic and Ecological Justice Programme, please find below the invitation to attend our upcoming ECOTHEE book launch webinar: 

“Contemporary ecotheology, climate justice and environmental stewardship in world religions” (ecothee. Vol. 6) taking place Tuesday, 14th December 2021 at 17:00 CET

Please register through this link:

https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZIpd-2pqTorGdBLN1P6LWw67PhPNO8pDAVo

Kindly find the link on our website, for additional information about the programme: https://www.oikoumene.org/events/book-launch-webinar-contemporary-ecotheology-climate-justice-and-environmental-stewardship-in-world-religions .

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CoNGO Notes: For more information on the Committee of Religious NGOs at the United Nations, please visit rngos.wordpress.com. For more information on the NGO Committee on Sustainable Development-Vienna, please visit congocsd.wordpress.com. For more information on the NGO Committee on Sustainable Development-NY, please visit ngocsd-ny.org

Climate and nature: The Role of Faith-Based Organizations in Securing an Equitable, Net Zero Emissions and Nature Positive World for All

Dear friends and colleagues,

On behalf of the Faith and Biodiversity UN Coordination Group, we are delighted to invite you to this hybrid events we are hosting and livestreaming at COP26 in Glasgow. This discussion will explore the role that faith-based organizations can play in advocating for strong action on climate and biodiversity. It will explore the theological and philosophical basis of the current environmental crisis, and offer insights into how humanity can re-orientate itself to being in harmony and balance with nature. The event will also explore the connections between COP26 and the CBD COP15, and how faith groups can help advocate for a strong Post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework to secure an equitable, net-zero emissions and nature-positive world for all.
Speakers:
  • Sister Jayanti, Brahma Kumaris
  • Karenna Gore, Center for Earth Ethics
  • Debra Boudreaux, Buddhist Tzu Chi Foundation
  • Gopal D. Patel, Bhumi Global
  • Moderated by: Gavin Edwards, Global Coordinator, WWF New Deal for Nature and People
Live streaming will be available at: youtube.com/user/WWFClimate 

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CoNGO Notes: For more information on the Committee of Religious NGOs at the United Nations, please visit rngos.wordpress.com. For more information on the NGO Committee on Financing for Development, please visit ngosonffd.org. For more information on the NGO Committee on Sustainable Development-NY, please visit ngocsd-ny.org. For more information on the NGO Committee on Sustainable Development-Vienna, please visit congocsd.wordpress.com.

Remembering and Honoring Past Massacres: The Legacy and Resilience of the Victims

Remembering and Honoring Past Massacres: the Legacy and Resilience of the Victims

This webinar conversation will start by marking the 100th year anniversary of the Tulsa Race Riot, and will broaden its scope on other similar tragic events the English-speaking Americas (USA, Canada and the Caribbean).

This webinar will be a conversation (not a lecture) and remembrance, punctuated with moments of art (poetry, drums). A moment to lament, but also to recognize these fallen heroes. Other webinars focussing on the same issue of past massacres will be organized throughout the year and will focus on other regions.

We invite you to register here for this event:

https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_qsguoT97Th2e76YIYcmNvw

Moderator: Bishop Mary-Ann Swenson, WCC Central Committee

Co-facilitator: Rev. Dr. Mikie A. Roberts, WCC programme executive for Spiritual Life

Panellists:

  • Rev. Dr. Robert Turner, pastor of Historic Vernon chapel A.M.E. church, Tulsa, Oklahoma and academic dean for Jackson Theological Seminary
  • Dr. Michael McEachrane, co-founder and consultative member of the European Network of People of African Descent
  • Mrs. Jennifer P. Martin, Education in Mission Secretary, Caribbean and North America Council for Mission (CANACOM)
  • Dr. Daniel D. Lee, academic dean of the Centre for Asian American Theology and Ministry, assistant professor of theology and Asian American ministry at Fuller Theological Seminary
  • Mr. Russel Burns, member of the National Indigenous Ministries and Justice Council (NIC), of the Indigenous caucus of Western Mining Action Network (WMAN), and of the Comprehensive Review Task Group (CRTG) of the United Church of Canada.

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CoNGO Notes: For more information the Committee of Religious NGOs at the United Nations, please visit rngos.wordpress.com. For more information on the NGO Committee on Social Development, please visit ngosocdev.org.

The Human Face of the Migration Crisis: A Faith-Based Response

The scale of human migration can be overwhelming—estimates are that more people are on the move in our time than at any time in human history. To each “number” there is a human face, a person made in the image of God.

How can people of faith respond to this crisis in tangible ways? How can the Bible inform our response? To look at these and other questions related to the migration crisis we will be joined by a panel from across North America with a variety of experiences and perspectives on migration.

Register here!

Speakers:

vănThanh Nguyễn, S.V.D., is the author of the new book What Does the Bible Say About Strangers, Migrants and Refugees?. Nguyễn came to the United States as a refugee from Vietnam in 1975 and he is today Professor of New Testament Studies and the holder of the Francis X. Ford, M.M., Chair of Catholic Missiology at Catholic Theological Union.

Dannia and Aida Pena were born in San Salvador, El Salvador. In the 1990s they fled the Civil War in El Salvador and came to Los Angeles, California. Today, Dannia serves as an Accounting Manager at a Mental Health Center in San Antonio and Aida works just outside San Antonio in Bilingual Education. Both sisters are married with children and are active in the Focolare Movement.

Sean Ryan and Monica Nugent are university students living in Vancouver, British Columbia. As an outgrowth of their Catholic faith, both are both active in Dignity Inherent, a group working to raise awareness about human trafficking and Canada’s laws on prostitution.

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CoNGO Notes: For more information on the NGO Committee on Migration, please visit ngo-migration.org. For more information on the Committee of Religious NGOs at the United Nations, please visit rngos.wordpress.com. For more information on the NGO Committee on Spirituality, Values, and Global Concerns-NY, please visit csvgc-ny.org.

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