UUA President Joins World Religious Leaders at International Summit
July 2, 2008
Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA) President William G. Sinkford is in Sapporo, Japan to participate in a summit of world religious leaders (July 2-3), prior to the start of the G-8 Summit of World Leaders in Japan (July 5-6). The religious leaders’ summit, which includes nearly twenty-five representatives of religions from G-8 countries and an additional twenty-five representatives from other regions of the world, is the third organized by regional affiliates of the World Conference of Religions for Peace.
The summit will focus on critical challenges that confront the human family; summit organizers seek to advance ways that religious communities can work together in appropriate partnerships with the G8 and other governments to advance the common good.
The opening plenary of the religious summit will include reflections from G-8 country representatives on “The G8 Summit: Our Spiritual and Moral Responsibilities.” A second plenary focuses on “Advancing Shared Security: The Commitments of the World’s Religions.” A third plenary will examine “The Way Forward: Mobilizing the World’s Religious Communities in Common Action for Peace”. It is anticipated that the participants in the summit will draft and issue at least one joint statement during the summit.
Previous gatherings in conjunction with the G-8 Summit were held in Germany (2006) and Russia (2007). The agenda for the summit is set by the international steering committee of Religions for Peace. Rev. Sinkford is one of a small number of representatives from the United States invited to attend; he, along with Rabbi Eric Yoffie, President of the Union of Reform Jews, are the two American denominational heads participating. Also attending the summit is Rev. Dr. Michael Kinnamon, General Secretary, National Council of Churches of Christ in the USA.
Following the conclusion of the religious summit, Sinkford travels on to Tokyo to meet with leaders of the Rissho Kosei-kai, the Japanese religious partner organization of the UUA.
For more information contact international @ uua.org.
Last updated on Wednesday, July 2, 2008.
