On Jan. 14-17, 2010, the IARF (International Association for Religious Freedom)-U.S. Chapter met, along with the World Congress of Faiths, at the "Unitarian Universalists of Clearwater" Church for a long, jam-packed weekend of fun and fellowship with the theme of "Reconciliation with the Earth, Each Other, and the Stranger."

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But before driving to the weekend venue, we decided to take a look at Clearwater Beach, which was just beautiful!

Since many of us had come from colder climes, we especially enjoyed the white sand beach and warmer, sunny weather....and the palm trees.

Our first activity when we arrived at the Unitarian Church of Clearwater that afternoon was to register for the weekend's events.

 

 

At the registration table, we were greeted by IARF-U.S. President Rev. Dr. Doris Hunter, and Vice President Nyla McCullough, who told us about the upcoming Conference in Kochi (Cochin), Kerala, India in September, where we will have the privilege of hearing a talk by the Dalai Lama.

Activities began Thursday evening with an Interfaith worship service led by the Rev. Abhi Janamanchi.  On Friday, there were talks by Dr. Paul Rasor (on Reconciliation) and Dr. Roy Kaplan & a panel on Racial Justice, followed by a variety of workshops. 

One of these workshops was led by IALRW President Kathy Matsui from Japan, and Past President Jopie Boeke from the U.K., about the 100th Anniversary of the IALRW, which will be celebrated at our 33rd Congress in Kochi, Kerala, India, on Sept. 1-4, 2010, (followed by the IARF Congress Sept. 4-7).

Friday evening's program was a worship service led by the Board members of the IARF-U.S. chapter, and included a remembrance of the Rev. Polly Guild, supporter, benefactor, U.S. Chapter Board member, and devoted friend of the IARF, who died in November.

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After the service, we all participated in an amazing Multicultural Interfaith Concert, Celebrating the Birthday of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., that ended late in the evening with an offering, in which we collected over $3,000 for earthquake relief in Haiti.

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On Saturday, we attended a Rissho-Kosei-Kai worship service, led by the Rev. Maamichi Kamiya.  These services are held regularly at the Clearwater UU church.

During the conference we were invited to participate in a typical weekly service, which was very educational, helping those new to Buddhism learn more about it.

Saturday's program featured an informative talk on "IARF Today! Congress 2010" and on "Human Rights in India," given by Thomas Mathew, Council President of the IARF, who attended, from India, and was introduced warmly by Rev. Abhi Janamanchi, pastor of the Clearwater UU Church and past President of the IARF.

Lectures Saturday included talks by Dr. Hal French, Prof. at Univ. of S. Carolina; Dr. Mozella Mitchell, Prof. at the Univ. of S. Florida; and the Rev. Dr. William Schulz, former Exececutive Director of Amnesty International and former President of the UUA (Unitarian Universalist Association), who also gave a stirring sermon on Sunday morning.

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Music throughout the weekend was enhanced by the participation and spirit of Jim Scott, including the Sunday morning service, in which he sang, "The Oneness of Everything" and "Let This Be A House of Peace."

Listen to Jim Scott sing "The Oneness of Everything." Click the green arrow to start.

(used by permission)

(Lyrics are downloadable free, and several arrangements from solo to choir are available for a fee at Jimscottmusic.com)

We certainly hope you can join us in celebrating our IALRW Centennial at the 33rd Congress in Kochi, Kerala, India Sept. 1-4, 2010 (during which we women will be staying at the Hotel Gokulam Park), which will be followed by the IARF meeting Sept. 4-7, 2010.  Both meetings will be held at the Catholic Renewal Center at Ernakulam (near Kochi), Kerala, India...where the theme of the IARF meeting is:  "Beyond Conflict to Reconciliation: The Challenge of the 21st Century."

More information about the IALRW portion of the Congress can be seen on this website very soon.  And for more information about the IARF meeting which will follow our IALRW meeting, click the link to either of the two IARF websites (IARF & IARF-U.S.) at the top left on the home page.  To register for the IARF portion of the Congress, click on IARF (at IARF.net).

Judy Highfill
IALRW, editor

 

 

 

by Gudrun Hahn, EME conference organizer

The IARF Region of Europe and the Middle East (EME) held a conference on the theme: “Religious Freedom: A Call To Action” in the city of Mannheim, Germany. Our host was the Freireligiöse Gemeinde Mannheim (Free-religious congregation). Helpful hands and minds supported us during the 3-day meeting from October 22-25, 2009.

Those who registered - about 40 participants - might not have been aware that the conference theme was actually more like "doing our work--here and now--on the spot."

In the first workshop, the future of the IARF in Europe and the Middle East (EME) was discussed.  In the second workshop, we talked about ways to communicate with the media and how to use them. The third workshop was about getting to know other similar associations and collecting ideas on how to work together with them on projects.

On Saturday morning a steering committee was formed to deal with organizing work for the IARF in EME. A special outlook on UN-connected work concerning “Freedom of Religion or Belief” was given by John Taylor from Geneva, Switzerland. Whenever you see somewhere that the freedom of religion or belief is threatened, John Taylor is a person you can contact to get support.

Thomas Mathew from Kerala in South India brought us a lot of information and pictures about the next IARF Congress. You had better start saving up now because  you do not want to miss this interesting upcoming event.

Parallel to the IARF meeting in Mannheim there was a meeting of the younger generation of the RFYN organized by Morse Flores. You can get more information about that from the IARF website (by clicking on the link under "Resources" to the left of this screen).

During the conference we had an exhibition on “150 years of the Bund freireligioeser Gemeinden Deutschland (BfGD)”--the Confederation of the Free-religious congregations of Germany.  We could see how the Mannheim congregation had developed and what the free-religious basics are. It was a good way to understand our host.

After all the work, we spent an afternoon and evening in Heidelberg. Dr. Thomas Lasi, a minister of the Free-religious congregation of Mannheim/Baden, gave us a guided tour with a special outlook on philosophy and theology. Unfriendly October weather encouraged us to disappear into a warm Greek tavern quicker than we had planned. With Greek wine and German beer, long conversations did not become dry.

One phenomenon of the conference was that people talked a lot with each other. As conference organizer, I sometimes feel I am disturbing the crowd with the official program. Maybe they would still sit there as long as they were given food. But the resulting communication gleaned from our conversations surely led to more intensive IARF work and many new friendships.

An international service in Ludwigshafen (just next to Mannheim) closed the conference.

This poem was written and read by Mrs. Shaheen Bhatti on the embarking day of the organization "Collaboration against Religious Violence and Extremism (CARVE)" in Lahore, Pakisan, in October, 2009.

                             "Peace Cycle"

Peace cycle starts from the psyche and attitudes of love;
Love that always seeks to do good to help and heal;
Never to hurt or destroy;
With its extensions to one's family and surroundings;
Which further engage individuals in ties of acceptance and respect;
The mutual ties of individuals that lead to community and groups;
The groups that influence civil societies;
The civil society that cultivates peace nationally;
And makes their nation a model of PEACE;
PEACE to be followed;
Followed by international communities;
Again from the psyche and attitudes of love!!!

A year before the IARF congress in South-India there is a conference held in Mannheim/Germany. The Freireligiöse Gemeinde (Freereligiuous congregation) is host to the European and Middle East delegates. There won’t be a separate women’s (IALRW) meeting, but women are well represented and are mostly organizing the IARF event.

It will be a real working conference. The discussion will be about how to manage the changes within IARF now that the headquarters have moved to Japan. We will create a new structure of communication to help motivate members to come to India in Sept., 2010.

When you read this, if you live in Europe or the Middle East, feel free to drop in with very short notice. The conference starts with an opening evening on Thursday, Oct. 22, and finishes with an International service on Sunday, Oct. 25. You can find further details on the IARF website.

Gudrun Hahn, member of IARF & IALRW
in Germany