Dear Sisters and Brothers in the URI,
Greetings of love and peace. It is a joy to invite you to join your sisters and brothers in URI and our partners around the world in celebrating the 10th Anniversary of URI’s Charter Signing through acts of service to our Earth community.
On June 26, 2000, URI’s Charter was signed at a global ceremony in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA, in cities and towns across the Earth, and on the internet. On that day, these words, which speak with the voices of thousands of URI founders around the world, became a living reality:
"We, people of diverse religions, spiritual expressions and Indigenous traditions throughout the world, hereby establish the United Religions Initiative 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."
As we signed the Charter, we committed to make its words a living reality through service. Nearly ten years later, URI has grown from 75 founding Cooperation Circles to over 400 CCs in over 70 countries. Each year our activities in service to the Earth community touch over 1.5 million people. The Charter is alive!
As URI’s 10th Anniversary approaches, we invite you to celebrate URI’s first ten years of growth and service and to launch URI’s second ten years by joining your sisters and brothers around the world in a 72-Hour Global Celebration Through Service, Friday through Sunday, June 25-27, 2010.
Mark Mancao will orchestrate this great celebration through service and he will communicate with you soon about the timeline between now and the 72 Hours.
For now, let’s begin. I invite you and your CC to reflect on this question: What is your best idea for a service project and how will you invite others to join you in service? Please share your ideas [by leaving a comment below].
Together we will create a world of thoughts, enthusiasm and commitment to SERVICE in celebration of URI’s 10th Anniversary!
Love,
Charles
The Rev. Canon Charles P. Gibbs
Executive Director
