It was in December of 1999, a day at The Parliament of the World’s Religions assembled in Cape Town, South Africa. I had chosen to wear my Dominican habit by way of giving witness to my religious order’s public declaration of its interfaith mission of dialogue and respect for all faith traditions and spiritual paths. I chose to wear my religious habit, one worn by many illustrious women and men for nearly eight centuries as members of the Order of Preachers. There were of course many others in national and religious garb making this gathering of some 7000 participants from 80 countries a colorful display of our diversity.
Baytown, Texas sits between a bayou and the Gulf of Mexico, on the outskirts of Houston. It also sits under a haze of air pollution from an oil refinery. The ExxonMobil oil refinery and chemical plant in Baytown is one of the largest — and most polluting — in the country. When we found it had…
National Public Lands Day is Saturday, but wolves in the Yellowstone area are being slaughtered mercilessly — and private interests like trophy hunters and Big Oil and Gas are making matters worse.
That’s why a generous group of donors is matching every gift in honor of National Public Lands Day, up to our goal of $47,500, until midnight on Saturday. Because you’ve been such an essential supporter, we created a custom match link you can use to be the FIRST to double your impact — so hurry and give now!
At the Closing Plenary of the 2021 Parliament of the World’s Religions, hosted virtually from October 16-18, Parliament Chair Nitin Ajmera shared a special announcement with attendees. Chicago is to serve as the host for the 9th Parliament of the World’s Religions.
The 9th global Convening of the Parliament of the World’s Religions will take place on August 14-18, 2023, returning to the United States and the birthplace of the modern interfaith movement, Chicago.
The Parliament of the World’s Religions (PoWR) is proud to present the Visual Statement drafted and endorsed during the 2021 Parliament of the World’s Religions, held virtually for the first time in our organization’s history. The Visual Statement is an elegant, illustrated declaration of our roles and responsibilities in the face of the twin threats of climate change and Covid-19.
PoWR’s Climate Action Task Force drafted the Visual Statement and our diverse global community helped refine it through feedback and workshops before and during the virtual convening.
“Since its dedication on Christmas morning in 1856, Old St. Patrick’s has been a sacred site embodying the dreams and aspirations of hundreds of thousands of Chicagoans. In few neighborhoods have the bricks and mortar mattered so much.”
— ELLEN SKERRETT
Editor of At the Crossroads: Old St. Patrick’s and the Chicago Irish
Global Sisters Report is an independent, non-profit source of news and information about Catholic sisters and the critical issues facing the people they serve. Our network of journalists report about their lives and works, and sisters write commentary from their perspective.
A project of National Catholic Reporter Publishing Company, Global Sisters Report is headquartered in Kansas City, Missouri, and is funded by grants from the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation and the Thomas and Dorothy Leavey Foundation. The GSR in the Classroom project is funded by the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation and the GHR Foundation.
Portrays the life and work of the famous eco-theologian. The feature length film is available for purchase and viewing from bullfrogfilms. As a pioneer in the field of spirituality and ecology, Thomas Berry created a quiet revolution. He was a monk, a cultural historian, an author, a teacher, and a mystic. He saw his life work as waking us up to that sacred story. He called us “mad” for the way we are despoiling our home, our planet, its beauty, and its living systems. He was a force that reminded us that we are living through the greatest extinction spasm of the past 65 million years. We are the ones responsible. Berry urged us to change our ways.
Buzzing from flower to flower, bees shape the world around us. From upholding our food system to preserving biodiversity, bees are our best pollinators. But did you know these facts about bees? There are 4,000 native bee species in America. Bees come in as many sizes, shapes and colors as the flowers they pollinate. Even the world’s smallest bee — just 2 millimeters long — calls America home! Bees don’t just live in hives! Only social bees live in hives, making up 10% of bee species across the world. Other bees can be found in marshes, sand dunes, cliffs, peatlands, wetlands, grasslands, quarries, gravel pits, sea walls and even more amazing places. But across the country, their habitat is being destroyed by human activity.
With gratitude and anticipation Shem Center announces the appointment of Steve Miler to Shem Center’s staff as Assistant Director with Joe Kilikevice, its Founding Director. Steve’s involvement with Shem Center’s Male Spirit program for many years both as a participant and co-leader with Joe holds an impressive history of creative, joyful, profoundly moving and memorable sacred gatherings.
Shem Center for Interfaith Spirituality
708 North Harvey Avenue
Oak Park, IL 60302
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Photo Credits: Emory Mead, Stephen B. Starr, Joseph Kilikevice
The Shem Center for Interfaith Spirituality website is awarded a 2022 American Digital Design Award for excellence in design and user experience.
