The Ambassador Times - January 2017

• Register for the Final World Interfaith Harmony Week Webinar
• A Statement to the Global Interfaith Community on Exclusionary Actions
• The Call for Universal Rejection of Trump Censorship
• The Parliament's Statement on EPA Nominee to U.S. Senate Committee
• Statements You Might Have Missed
• AAC Profile - Spotlight on AAC Member Eileen Epperson
• Website Updates - Ambassador Page on the Parliament Website
• Ambassador Profiles
• Announcements 

• Join Tuesday, February 7th - Still Standing with Standing Rock

  • Mr. Lewis Cardinal, Chair of the Indigenous Peoples Task Force and Trustee of the Parliament of the World’s Religions, First Nations Advisor to the Alberta Provincial Government, Professor

  • Rev. Andras Corban Arthen, Spiritual Director of the Earthspirit Community, President of the European Congress of Ethnic Religions, Vice-Chair of the Parliament of the World’s Religions Board of Trustees, Member of the Indigenous Peoples Task Force of the Parliament of the World’s Religions  

  • Grandmother Mary Lyons, Ojibwe Elder, Indigenous Grandmother, Women Of Wellbriety, International, Keynote Speaker of the 2015 Parliament of the World’s Religions

  • Christopher D. Peters, President and CEO of the 7th Generation Fund for Indigenous Peoples, Trustee of the Parliament of the World’s Religions, and Member of the Indigenous Peoples Task Force of the Parliament of the World’s Religions

     

Did you miss Parliament trustees, Task Force members, and a fellow Ambassador in the series of live-video webinars celebrating the United Nations World Interfaith Harmony Week, February 1 – 7, 2017!

• Watch  Now - A More Peaceful, Just and Sustainable World

  • Rev. Dr. Rob Sellers, Chair of the Board of Trustees of the Parliament of the World’s Religions, Professor Emeritus of Theology at Hardin-Simmons University

  • Rev. Dr. Larry Greenfield, Executive Director of the Parliament of the World’s Religions, Former Dean of the Divinity School at the University of Chicago and Past President of Colgate Rochester Divinity School

  • Ms. Sara Rahim, Youth Representative of the Parliament of the World’s Religions to the United Nations Department of Public Information-NGO Division, Youth Keynote, UN World Interfaith Harmony Week General Assembly Session 2015, and Faith in Women Keynote of the 2015 Parliament of the World’s Religions

  • Simran Jeet Singh, Ph.D, Religion Fellow at the Sikh Coalition, Professor of Religious Studies at Trinity University, and Ambassador of the Parliament of the World’s Religions

• Watch  Now - The Next Act: Interfaith Commitments to Climate Justice

  • Mr. David Hales, Trustee of the Parliament of the World’s Religions and Chair of the Parliament Climate Action Task Force

  • Dr. Cheryl Bridges Johns, Robert E. Fisher Professor of Spiritual Renewal and Christian Formation at Pentecostal Theological Seminary, Member of the Parliament of the World’s Religions Climate Action Task Force

  • Michael Terrien, Oblate of St. Benedict, Associate member of the Catholic Association of Diocesan Ecumenical and Interreligious Officers (CADEIO), Trustee of the Parliament and Parliament of the World’s Religions Climate Action Task Force Member

  • Imam Saffet Catovic, GreenFaith Muslim Fellow and Co-founder and Chair of the Green Muslims of New Jersey (GMNJ), Parliament of the World’s Religions Climate Action Task Force Member

• Watch Now - The Dignity of Women Across the World's Religions

  • Dr. Elizabeth Ursic, Chair of the Women’s Task Force of the Parliament of the World’s Religions and Trustee of the Parliament Board, Co-Chair of the Women’s Caucus at the American Academy of Religion, and Professor of World Religions

  • Dr. Dolly Dastoor, Trustee of the Parliament of the World’s Religions, Editor and Chief of Fezana Zoroastrian Magazine, Asst. Professor of Psychiatry, McGill University

  • Dr. Badrah Shah, President of Sathi Foundation, Physician of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Trustee of the Parliament of the World’s Religions

  • Audrey Kitagawa,  JD, President, Light of Awareness International Spiritual Family, Chairperson Emerita of the NGO Committee on Spirituality, Values and Global Concerns, Trustee of the Parliament of the World’s Religions

  • Rev. Joyce Shin, Pastor/Head of Staff at Swarthmore Presbyterian Church, Trustee of the Parliament of the World’s Religions

  • Michael Reid Trice, Assistant Professor of Constructive Theology and Theological Ethics and Assistant Dean of Ecumenical and Interreligious Dialogue at the School of Theology and Ministry at Seattle University, Associate Editor for the Journal in Interreligious Studies and Intercultural Theology, Trustee of the Parliament of the World’s Religions

  • Rev. Phyllis Curott, Co-Founder and Past Chair of the Parliament Women's Task Force and Vice-Chair Emeritus of the Parliament of the World's Religions, Founder, Sistrum Spirit, Bestselling Author and Wiccan Priestess

A Statement to the Global Interfaith Community on Exclusionary Actions of the U.S. Government 

A Public Statement from David F. Hales, Trustee of the Parliament and Chair of the Parliament of the World’s Religions Climate Action Task Force

"In light of these alarming developments, the Parliament of the World’s Religions, in keeping with its 2015 Declaration on Climate Change, concludes that it is our religious and moral imperative to oppose any actions to censor or repress scientific research, knowledge and facts. We urge religious leaders and people of all spiritual orientations to join us in strongly opposing any efforts to curtail active, peer-reviewed research or any effort to restrict access to sound science."

Read the complete statement here. 

You Might Have Missed

• A New Year's Reflection from the Chair
• A New Year's Message from the Executive Director
• A Statement on Standing Rock

AAC Profile

The Ambassador Advisory Council (AAC) is made up of Parliament Ambassadors who dedicate their time, effort, and professional experience to develop and improve the Ambassador program.

In each Ambassador Times, we will introduce a member of the AAC. This month we interviewed Eileen L. Epperson of Salisbury, Connecticut, USA.
 

Eileen L. Epperson

Tell us a little about yourself Eileen.

I am a hospice chaplain and bereavement counselor and a spiritual director. I lead eight grief support groups weekly during the school year. I live with my dog, Max, in a lovely community in rural N.W. Connecticut. I have family spread out across the U.S. but none close to me. I love to read and I knit and crochet. I am a fan of great movies and the arts in general. For fun, I sometimes perform in community theatre.

How did you get involved in interfaith work?

Starting when I was 16, I took a private seminar which was not related to any institution, the Interior Life Seminar. For over three years of weekly seminar meetings, I was the youngest of the 8-9 seminar students who were all adults. We read primary material in the great religions as well as the lives of holy people in those traditions. There was a real freedom of spirit to be drawn to a faith or a philosophy that touched the mind and heart. That experience of spiritual freedom to follow any path as well as pick-and-choose what delighted in any tradition, has never been replicated in my life, except when I have taught The Interior Life Seminar myself. When I was in my early 30s, I had a call to ordained ministry. I wanted to be a spiritual guide for others in the way that I had been guided as a 16-19-year-old.

You work as a hospice chaplain and bereavement counselor - does the spiritual care you offer people at the end of life compare to how you approach people in your daily life?

I am more sensitive, gentle and alert with patients and the bereaved than I am normally. But there is no question in my mind that the way of being which I practice in those specific settings does carry through to listening to friends and the way in which I treat service people, etc.

You are a chaplain and a spiritual director, what other interreligious work are you engaged in?

I am in the Doctor of Ministry program at Hartford Seminary, an interfaith graduate institution. I have been taking courses for the past year with Jews and Muslims which has been extraordinary. I talk about the Parliament and my role as an Ambassador whenever the opportunity arises. It is amazing how many people have not heard of the Parliament. I am aiming to change that, at least at the seminary.

What do you most enjoy about working with people from faiths outside of your own?

The stretch. The ouch. The aha.

What do you find most challenging in regard to your interfaith effort?

The stretch. The ouch. The aha.

Read the complete interview here.

Parliament Website Updates

• The Ambassador Program - A broad overview about the program and what it means to be a PWR Ambassador.
• Meet the Team - Profiles of the Ambassador Liaison and the Ambassador Advisory Council.
• Parliament Ambassador - Complete list the profiles of Parliament Ambassadors.
• Duties & Guidelines - A copy of the duties, guidelines, code of ethics and code of respect that make up the Ambassador program. 
• Find an Ambassador - An interactive map that locates Ambassadors based on regions and countries.
• Ambassador Events - List of upcoming pre-Parliament events organized by Ambassadors and archive of past events.
• Ambassador Resources - Helpful links to past Ambassador Times, trainings, webinars, videos, and Parliament publications.
• Apply to the Program! - The program application.
• FAQs - A series of frequently asked questions. 

Your Ambassador Profile

As the Parliament team prepares to roll out the Ambassador Program page update, we ask you to begin updating your very own personal profile. Once logged in you can add articles and blog posts, comment on the websites publications, and interact with people from around the world through the Parliament's forum. 

Each Ambassador profile will be linked directly to the program page appearing with the most up to date information. If you want your profile to appear, please complete your profile by updating your biography and uploading a profile picture. 

See an example of a completed profile below.



Every Ambassador has a Parliament profile and login. Starting February 6th, each Ambassador will receive an email with their username and password. If you have any questions regarding the profile contact Miriam, your Ambassador Liaison. 

Announcements 

• The Ambassador application process is now open. Apply Here!
• The Parliament Forum is now open. Visit Here!
• Please remember to update any email and address changes by contacting the Ambassador Liaison.
• If you are interested in physical copies of any PWR documents including brochures for events, please contact the Ambassador Staff Liaison.