The Rt. Rev. William E. Swing

Strategic Advisory Council Co-Chair; Founder and President Emeritus of URI; Former Episcopal Bishop of California

San Mateo, CA USA

Faith Community: Christian; Episcopalian

Bishop William E. Swing is the Founder and President Emeritus of URI. As the 7th Episcopal Bishop of California (1980‑2006), he led significant engagement in homeless and immigrant ministries, HIV/AIDS response, and inter‑religious outreach in the San Francisco Bay Area. In 1993, at the invitation of the United Nations, he convened an inter‑faith service to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the UN Charter—an event that catalyzed the formation of URI.

In his role on the SAC, Bishop Swing offers a visionary anchor for URI’s values of inclusive spirituality, inter‑faith dialogue and peacebuilding. His global network, deep experience in faith‑community leadership and institutional founding provide wise counsel for scaling daily inter‑religious collaboration, ending religion‑related violence and strengthening cultures of justice, healing and ecological stewardship.

URI Stories of Impact

Margaret Gill Homily

Today we entrust Margaret’s ashes to the immanence of God, to the ground of all Being.

A World at Peace

Three fervent prayers powerfully call people everywhere to pray for a world at peace. These prayers are offered by: Right Reverend William Swing, Audri Scott Williams, and by May Peace Prevail On Earth International.

Leaving A Legacy Of Love - Isabelle Ortega-Lockwood

“It has been an absolute honor and pleasure to work with you. You exemplify the spirit of URI.”

Hans Kung and URI’s Pivotal Day – April 19, 1996

Hans Kung - priest, author, theologian - died on April 6, 2021. There would never have been a United Religions Initiative had it not been for Hans Kung.

Start at the End and Work Backwards

What if the worst-case scenarios for the environment and for nuclear weapons actually happened? What would the world, as we know it, be like?

Fond Farewell to Victor Kazanjian

On a snowy evening in Santa Fe, New Mexico, Victor and Michelle were honored by the President’s Council of URI.

The Vaccine and I

This year on Ash Wednesday, my wife, Mary, and I not only had ashes, from church, placed on our foreheads; we also went to a medical clinic and had the second doses of Moderna Covid vaccine injected in our arms.

URI Mourns the Passing of George P. Shultz

The United Religions Initiative (URI) mourns the loss of George Shultz and prays for eternal blessings on his soul.

Christian Nationalism and Its Role in Insurrection and Impeachment

The Founding Fathers of our country had seen all of this religiously motivated violence before in Europe. The last thing that they wanted was Christian nationalism. That is why the first words of their first Amendment to the Constitution was to guarantee that no religion would ever be the established religion of the United States of America

America and the Sacred

Following the horrific events at our nation’s Capitol, on Wednesday, January 6, 2021, I saw the sacred in the responses of a Democrat and a Republican. I also remembered the mob holding up its symbols of the sacred.

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