Anglican Bishop Benjamin Ojwang came to Barcelona, Spain, for the Parliament of the World�s Religions on a mission for his country.
�Put international pressure on our government to accept peace talks,� he pleaded, telling how Uganda�s rebel forces captured and tortured him last May in an ugly chapter in the civil war that has gnawed at the country for 18 years. �We need a third party to create a bridge of dialogue.�
After the meeting with the world�s religious leaders, however, he went home to deliver on his own offer of aid: a renewed commitment to extend the help of his diocese to refugees from neighboring Sudan. �We are a poor church. Money we cannot give. But we can advocate and campaign.�
Such was the spirit -- marshaling the shared responsibilities of the world�s mosques, synagogues, churches and ashrams -- that animated the fourth Parliament of the World�s Religions. During the weeklong event in July, the assembly called for communities of faith to respond to the issues of clean water, aid to refugees, reducing foreign debt for poor nations and ending religiously motivated violence.
The parliament awarded the Paul Carus Award for inter-religious achievement to Acholi Religious Leaders Peace Initiative, to which Ojwang belongs, for uniting Uganda�s Catholics, Muslims and Protestants in a call for peace.
Four front-line issues
Religious figures from almost every major tradition attended and listened to leading organizations working on the front lines of the four issues. Attendance surpassed the 7,000 mark as the parliament unfolded and numbered more than 400 at the workshops.
Exploring the theme �Pathways to Peace: The Wisdom of Listening, the Power of Commitment,� the parliament built on work begun in the previous meetings in Chicago in 1893 and 1993 and in Cape Town, South Africa, in 1999.
�The World Parliament of Religions has been a marketplace of ideas on inter-religious dialogue, some useful and some not so useful,� said Sonia Omulepu, interfaith education coordinator for the Episcopal Church. �The conference confirmed my strong belief that interfaith dialogue must be anchored in respect, equality and justice for the �other.��
Representatives from virtually all of the world�s religions participated in sessions that offered keynote addresses, workshops, prayers and blessings, video presentations, music and other performances. A typical day began with opportunities for participants to engage in spiritual observances from their own or other traditions.
Intra-religious sessions let participants explore the particularities and complexities of each tradition. Topics included Jain teachings on nonviolence; the art of war, the Tao of peace; Christian motivations for dialogue; Buddhist and Hindu approaches to dialogue; building peace in the Middle East; and reaching out to those of other religions.
�It was a wonderfully eclectic gathering of people from every imaginable place, spiritual and regional -- a bizarre bazaar of religious wares,� said the Rev. Dan Appleyard, a member of General Convention�s Standing Commission on Ecumenical and Inter-religious Relations.
�As such, I can say that I met new people and encountered new ideas and websites to research.�
Other Episcopalians active in the parliament included Bishop C. Christopher Epting, deputy for Ecumenical and Interfaith Relations at the Episcopal Church Center; William Swing, bishop of the Diocese of California and founder of United Religions Initiative; the Rev. Gwynne Guibord, ecumenical-interfaith officer in the Diocese of Los Angeles and president of the board of directors of the Interfaith Alliance; and the Rev. Lyndon Harris, formerly priest-in-charge of St. Paul�s Chapel in New York , which played a vital role in relief and recovery efforts following the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.
Calls for interfaith hospitality
Talks on the refugee crisis addressed the call to hospitality across faiths. Participants also experienced a special form of hospitality from members of the international Sikh community in what proved to be a highlight of the parliament for many.
In honor of the 400th anniversary of the establishment of the Sikh scriptures in India, the Sikhs offered daily �langar,� an open kitchen for thousands of people every afternoon of the conference. Under their simple tent on the beach, priests and lamas sat barefoot on the floor for a vegetarian meal. Hours of open dialogue between activists and delegates provided a reflective counterpoint to the heavily scheduled week.
Leaders announced commitments, which ranged widely in scope, throughout the conference. On the topic of relieving debt for developing nations, for example, a California Lutheran pastor declared his intention to raise money for debt-relief advocacy groups.
The talks occurred in an atmosphere of frequent meditation and prayer, which many participants saw as key to their success. �People make commitments all the time,� said one participant. �But a commitment in the absence of inner transformation is empty.�
The parliament�s leaders said that their priority is to develop a process to monitor and support the implementation of the commitments, including organizing the far-flung community over the Internet and briefing members on how the Barcelona initiatives are working around the world.
