URI Stories of Impact

Dear Friends -- Greetings of love and peace from Sri Lanka.  I write from my room in a hostel on the campus of the conference center of the Sarvodaya Movement. The overhead fan moves the air around and cools the room a little, but blessedly doesn’t drown out the symphony of night noises from all the creatures in this remote and peaceful place some considerable distance from downtown Colombo. Evidently there is a river, complete with crocodiles, on the grounds, but it was dark when we arrived so an exploration will have to wait.

Dear Friends -- Greetings of love and peace from Kottarakkara.  I began today, the final day of the holy books conference, the way I begin most days, with stretching exercises, meditation and quiet reflection, and then a lovely walk down the lane past Abraham’s house. This place is so lushly beautiful and the climate here has been ideal. The people are friendly in a gentle way that matches the natural beauty and temperate climate.

Dear Friends -- Greetings of love and peace. Today began at KIPS with a peaceful interfaith prayer gathering under a mimosa tree planted seven years ago by Abraham and now big enough to provide shade for our group, seated in a circle of chairs on the red dirt, listening to the music of the Earth and sharing the sacred wisdom of different traditions, listening with open hearts and minds, with joy and gratitude, as small yellow petals floated down from the tree.

Dear Friends -- Greetings of love and peace from Kottarakkara, India. Today was a wonderfully full day – the first day of the Fourth International Interfaith Conference on Holy Books – Holy Books and People of Differing Faiths, as well as the inauguration of the Interfaith Peace Research Institute.

Dear Friends -- Greetings of love and peace from Kottarakkara, in Kerala State in southern India – a land local people refer to as “God’s Own Country,” at least in part because of its lush green beauty.

The conference on "The role of religions to build Peace,Security and Counter Violent Extremism in Africa" at the Hotel Africana in Kamapala, Uganda

URI Executive Director Charles Gibbs urges members to support millions suffering from hunger