The Rt. Rev. William E. Swing

Founder and President Emeritus of URI; Former Episcopal Bishop of California

William E. Swing is the Founder and President Emeritus of the United Religions Initiative. Bishop Swing had the original vision of URI in 1993 in response to an invitation from the United Nations, which asked him to host an interfaith service honoring the 50th anniversary of the signing of the UN Charter. Bishop Swing, along with 50 others, shaped the URI purpose (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). URI is currently the largest interfaith grassroot organization.

Bishop Swing Bishop Swing served as the 7th Episcopal Bishop of California from 1980 until his retirement in 2006. In that capacity, he was a national and international leader in response to the AIDS crisis, co-founded Episcopal Community Services to address San Francisco’s homeless problem, and co-founded Community Bank of the Bay to support local businesses and the economy.

He is married to Mary Taylor Swing and has two children and three grandchildren.

Books by Bishop Swing: A Bishop's Quest: Founding a United Religions and The Sacred and the Silly: A Bishop's Playful and Eventful Life. Both books are available on Amazon.com; the proceeds of book sales will benefit URI.

URI Stories of Impact

"My House shall be a House of Prayer for all People"

The following is a sermon given by the Rt. Rev. William E. Swing on July 28^th, 2013, at St. Andrew’s Dune Church in Southampton, New York.

Isaiah 56: 3 – 8
Mark 11: 15 - 19

Jesus did not make up these words: "My House shall be called a House of Prayer for all people." Those words were written about 500 years before He was born. Jesus didn't make up those words, but he thought about them....a lot. And he added a few words of his own. And he did something dramatic to make those words come alive in the great temple in Jerusalem.

A Tribute to URI's Founding Executive Director, Charles Gibbs, on the Occasion of his Retirement

With self-effacing humor Charles Gibbs laughs about his singing voice. We, his friends, go along and beg him not to sing Happy Birthday or the National Anthem.

Laboring in the Soil of Interfaith, Searching for the Soul of Interfaith

URI Founder and President the Right Rev. William E. Swing presented these thoughts on faith, ecumenism and interfaith on Feb. 25 as the annual Paul Wattson Lecture at the University of San Francisco.

A Witness to Peace

As long as there is a URI, the name Irfan Ali will never be forgotten and will be held in high esteem.

Peace Comes Piecemeal

One of our President's Council members stopped in the doorway following a meeting and announced, "I finally got it. Peace is made by multiple small actions happening at the same time."

Online and On Stage, URI’s Bishop Swing Offers Thoughts on Peace

URI’s founder and President, the Right Rev. William E. Swing, is involved in two new ventures – a graduate class and an online television show.

Bishop Swing Addresses Religiously Motivated Violence in Wisconsin and Missouri

We don’t have a manifesto from Wade Michael Page, so we will never know his exact motives. But terrorism against worshippers is religiously motivated violence nonetheless.

Why Sustainability Matters

The tenth item in URI’s list of principles – “We act from sound ecological practices to protect and preserve the Earth for both present and future generations” – might seem a little peculiar to someone who thinks of URI primarily as an interfaith organization devoted to peace.

Bishop Swing Addresses Outgoing Trustees

The Right Rev. William E. Swing offered a few comments to the outgoing Trustees of the Global Council during Wednesday's worldwide staff call.

My One Hour with Pope Shenouda III

Sixteen years ago today, March 20, I met the Patriarch of the Coptic Orthodox Church, Pope Shenouda, III, in Cairo. March 20, 1996 as an eventful day for me starting with the news of the death of the Sheikh of al-Azhar. Then I arrived early for another meeting, this one with the Grand Mufti of Egypt, Dr. Muhammed Tantawi. When we were talking, the telephone rang and it was President Hosni Mubarrak who summoned him for an immediate meeting. (Tantawi was soon after selected as the Sheikh of al-Azhar.) As we finished our chat, Tantawi said, "when the light of one religion burns, it is a great blessing. When the lights of many religions burn together, it will be radiant and bring abundant blessings." He counseled that the vision of a United Religions would be for the good of the world if it were "gently presented."

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