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As URI’s global community grows
as a force for peace, justice and healing, we and all of humanity owe a debt of
profound gratitude and support to the visionary founders of the United Nations
and to those people who devote their lives to its success. A strong and
effective UN is critical to humanity’s future. The UN inspired the birth of the
URI and URI is formally affiliated with the UN through the Department of Public
Information. There is a URI Cooperation
Circle at the UN and many URI CCs around the world
have partnerships with local UN groups. In support of the UN and in the spirit
of global solidarity, I invite you to join your brothers and sisters all over
the world in three major United Nations’ observances in 2005, one of which is
also a major observance for URI:
Dear Friends of the URI,
Greetings of
love and peace.
As URI’s global community grows
as a force for peace, justice and healing, we and all of humanity owe a debt of
profound gratitude and support to the visionary founders of the United Nations
and to those people who devote their lives to its success. A strong and
effective UN is critical to humanity’s future. The UN inspired the birth of the
URI and URI is formally affiliated with the UN through the Department of Public
Information. There is a URI Cooperation
Circle at the UN and many URI CCs around the world
have partnerships with local UN groups. In support of the UN and in the spirit
of global solidarity, I invite you to join your brothers and sisters all over
the world in three major United Nations’ observances in 2005, one of which is
also a major observance for URI:
World Environment Day: WED was
established by the UN’s General Assembly in 1972, on the same day the United
Nations Environmental Program (UNEP) was created, to deepen public awareness of
the need to preserve and enhance the environment. In 1987, Nairobi, Kenya
became the first city to host a global WED observance – Environment and Shelter: More Than A Roof. In subsequent years,
this annual observance has focused on a wide variety of environmental issues:
global warming, clean water, the oceans, poverty and sustainable development.
This year San Francisco will host WED, the
first city in North America to have this
honor. The theme is Green Cities, which
the host committee believes “is timely because the 21st century marks the first
time in human history that the majority of the world’s population will live in
urban areas. Today, cities consume 75% of the planet’s natural resources. As
urban populations grow, it is increasingly important to balance the needs of
the environment, the economy, and social equity if we are going to achieve a
way of living that can support our planet and our people into future
generations.” URI is a partner in this
effort. Our purpose calls us “to create cultures of peace, justice and healing
for the Earth and all living beings.” We encourage you to visit the WED website
(www.wed2005.org) for ideas about how you can share in this global observance.
UN & URI Charters: June 26, 2005 marks the 60th
Anniversary of UN Charter and the global institution it created, which has
inspired and supported countless leaders over the past sixty years to make an
extra effort for peace and justice.
We the peoples of the United
Nations determined to save succeeding
generations from the scourge of war, which twice in our lifetime has brought
untold sorrow to mankind, and to
reaffirm faith in fundamental human rights, in the dignity and worth of the
human person, in the equal rights of men and women and of nations large and
small…do hereby establish an international organization to be known as the
United Nations.
June 25, 2005 is also the 5th
Anniversary of URI Charter and the global community it created, which daily
brings people together across faith lines to build a more peaceful and just
world.
We,
people of diverse religions, spiritual expressions and indigenous traditions
throughout the world, hereby establish the United Religions Initiative to
promote enduring, daily interfaith cooperation, to end religiously-motivated
violence and to create cultures of peace, justice and healing for the Earth and
all living beings.
In
these times when the need for global cooperation among nations and faiths is
made vivid each day, we urge you to find ways to celebrate this important
anniversary.
International Day of
Peace: The
International Day of Peace was established by the UN in 1981. Originally tied
to the yearly opening of the General Assembly, in 2001 its date was fixed
annually on September 21. For the past two years, members of the URI community
around the world have joined in celebrating this day with a wide array of
activities that demonstrate the power of shared action for peace. We invite you,
again, to join with your sisters and brothers around the world in helping this
day become a major global celebration.
We will be sharing more about
these observances as the year progresses, but we invite you now to put these
dates on your calendar and begin planning how you and your community will
participate. Please let us know what you’re planning by emailing
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. Together we can build
communities of peace, justice and healing for a better future.
Love, Charles Gibbs |
