“Darkness cannot drive out darkness, only light can do that.”
Reverend Martin Luther King Jr.
At its inception URI was likened to the birth of a star. An initial promotion card showed the famous image of a birth of a star from the Hubble telescope and included the words… “join a world waiting for the birth of new light.” In 1996, the “new light” referred to a vision that required “a commitment to participate in a spirit of humility, conviction and openness to move beyond ourselves to a common ground where the world might be transformed.”
Twenty-five years later, the Webb telescope showed an image of a birthing star with unimagined luminosity – showing more radiant light, more clarified and unstoppable energy. Cycles of birthing, dying and birthing again are nature’s way. In the last 25 years, scientists have proclaimed that human beings are made of the same stuff as stardust. Might we human beings have the relentless energy of the birthing stars? As we head into 2025, URI inspires people everywhere in the world to feel this energy and do our part - to use our God-given star power to drive out the darkness.
URI’s vision of tapping the wisdom of the world’s faith traditions to guide cooperative interfaith efforts keeps birthing. From the mere glint of possibility ~~~ until today, URI calls forth and connects thousands of people who have organized themselves into 1190 Cooperation Circles in 113 countries. Each group has a unique aim, and all CCs are bound by URI’s common purpose: “To promote interfaith cooperation, end religiously motivated violence and create cultures of peace, justice and healing for the Earth and all living beings.”
Each month for the last 25 years, a cluster of new groups have joined URI’s global community as Cooperation Circles (CCs). Magnificently, they keep coming! The list of who they are and what they do is incredible!
Give yourself a URI present go to https://www.uri.org/who-we-are/cooperation-circles
Scroll the list of CCs. Allow this star-studded constellation of diversity, creativity, and responsibility-taking by people all over the world ~~~ to light you up!