Reflections from Salt Lake City

Dear sisters and brothers,

Greetings from Salt Lake City, Utah in the United States. Members of the URI Global Council, President’s Council, URI Foundation and Global Staff arrived here a week ago in advance of the 2015 Parliament of the World’s Religions. We are so grateful for this opportunity to bring together our leadership team from around the world to strengthen connections, share ideas and look forward to what lies ahead for URI.

We welcomed the following Trustees gathered with us:

Kiran Bali, MBE JP, Global Council Chair

Becky Burad, Global Council Treasurer, USA

Ravindra W. Kandage, Global Council Assistant Treasurer, Sri Lanka

K. Vasudeva Rao, Global Council Assistant Secretary, India

The Rt. Rev. William Swing, President

The Rev. Victor H. Kazanjian Jr., Executive Director

Ciro Gabriel Avruj, Argentina

Edward Bastian, USA

Rattan K. Channa, Kenya

Genivalda Cravo, Brazil

Elder Don H. Frew, USA

Rev. Hierodeacon Petar Gramatikov, Bulgaria

Marianne Horling, Germany

Kazi Nurul Islam, Bangladesh

John Kurakar, India

Chief Phil Lane, Jr., Canada

Elisabeth Lheure, Spain

Alejandrino Quispe Mejia, Peru

Peter Mousaferiadis, Australia

Sherif Awad Rizk, Egypt

Sam An Ros, Cambodia

Musa M. Sanguila, The Philippines

Swamini Adityananda Saraswati, India

Bart Ten Broek, The Netherlands

Sam Wazan, USA

Audri Scott Williams, USA

The Honorable Elisha Buba Yero, Nigeria

We have also been joined in Salt Lake City by members of URI’s President’s Council: Biff Barnard, Peter Carpenter, Jill Kramer, and John Weiser; Brigid Wonder from the URI Foundation; and URI Senior Staff members: Pamela Banks, Liam Chinn, Maria Crespo, Sally Mahe, and Sue Martin. Our URI leadership gathering provided us the opportunity to connect these leadership circles to each other and together to create a framework for strategic planning for URI. A very productive joint meeting of the members of URI’s Global Council and the members of Board of the Parliament of the World’s Religions took place on the eve of the Parliament.

As the Parliament of the World’s Religions commenced, the URI leadership team was joined by URI staff including Diana Conan, Gaea Denker, Deivid Gomes (Brazil), Sari Heidenrech (URI North America), Karen Hernandez, Valerie Purnell (URI Intern), Matthew Youde and members of the URI North America Leadership Team including Chair Ardey Turner, Sukhvinder Vinning, Fred Fielding, John Denker, Rebecca Tobias, and Frank Gard Jameson, and all who together created and staffed the URI Booth and Hospitality Suite. Special thanks to Julia Jameson for the beautiful paintings for the hospitality suite. Well over a thousand people have already visited these URI spaces, including hundreds of URI CC leaders from around the world during the six days of the Parliament, which concludes today Monday, October 19^th. In addition, hundreds of URI leaders provided leadership for programs and workshops attended by Parliament participants including programs on the Environment, Nuclear Disarmament, Indigenous Rights, Interfaith Dialogue, Peacebuilding, Women’s Empowerment and Youth Leadership (which was led by a team of URI young adult leaders.) Perhaps most importantly, URI members at the Parliament brought a spirit of love, compassion and hospitality that helped to create a spirit of harmony for all.

At the URI Reception at the Parliament, more than 400 people, some URI members and others new to URI, gathered to learn about and celebrate the URI movement as it continues to blossom in extraordinary ways. What a remarkable affirmation of the work of so many around the world who, through the power of Cooperation Circles, are bringing peace, justice and healing to the Earth and all living beings.

Blessings and thanks to all those in attendance at the Parliament and to those unable to join us in person but are with us in spirit. And blessings to all those in Cooperation Circles around the world who are living URI every day.

In peace… Victor