Members of the ERCC gather with Circles of Light guests during the 2015 San Francisco workshop
The Environmental Resource Cooperation Circle (ERCC) is a resource that makes itself available to further URI’s mission of healing for the Earth and all living beings upon it. Following URI’s Principle 10, the ERCC also aims to “act from sound ecological practices to protect and preserve the Earth for both present and future generations.”
As a resource organization focusing on URI’s specific environmental projects, the ERCC’s main purpose is to assist those Cooperation Circles who are interested in working toward solutions to environmental problems, and to support Cooperation Circles in becoming more ecologically sustainable.
The ERCC is available as a resource for connection and coordination among Cooperation Circles in different regions throughout the planet. The group also serves the URI global office and network as a resource for gathering news of the pressing ecological issues affecting humanity.
Currently, the ERCC is looking forward to an environmental workshop being held in tandem with the United Religions Initiative’s 12th annual Circles of Light Gala in San Francisco, California. The workshop will gather participants from around the world, including Cooperation Circles from Nigeria, India, Kenya, Argentina, Spain, the Philippines, North America, and the Middle East.
Edward Bastian, ERCC member since 2012, sees the aim of the workshop as creating a network that will tie in Cooperation Circles from around the world to easily share their best practices and discuss the challenges they face in pursuing environmental projects. Working together, the network of local groups will be able to accomplish more than any one group could alone.
“The general premise is that there’s an integral relationship between religion, spiritualty, and the environment,” Ed explains. “We’re not going to be able to solve [the world’s ecological problems] through technology alone. People also have to learn to live more sustainably. Religions have been preaching that for a long time; you don’t find happiness through material goods, you don’t damage the environment through your agriculture; we’re trying to revive that and remind people of the relationship.”
The environmental workshop will provide a forum for international groups to share their approaches and experiences, with an emphasis on developing ongoing friendships that will sustain long-term cooperation to create a more sustainable future for the entire planet. Additionally, the workshop participants will take part in URI’s annual gala, Circles of Light, as honored guests.
The ERCC will be one of 13 Cooperation Circles presenting their work on the forefront of local and global environmental efforts, which is being honored with the 2015 URI Circles of Light gala’s environmental theme. Circles of Light will be held March 14, 2015, in San Francisco’s Fairmont hotel. For tickets, please click here.
