“The aim of the United Religious Initiative is to promote enduring, daily interfaith cooperation, to end religiously motivated violence and to create a culture of peace, justice and healing for the Earth and all living beings.”
With this noble mission at heart, on the 6 and 7th of November, URI MENA conducted its 12th Annual Regional Assembly titled “Religion and Voluntarism” in Madaba, Jordan to discuss the importance of volunteerism in peacebuilding.
The event included tours to various religious locations and contributions from the organizations Cooperation Circles. As one of the CCs, EcoPeace Middle East participated in a session dedicated for the Faithbased Campaign launched for the rehabilitation of the Jordan River and titled “Jordan River in the Three Abrahamic Faiths”. Ms. Anwar Abu Hamour, who is leading the campaign, presented about the river, it’s symbolic and spiritual value in the three Abrahamic faiths and for humanity at large and its current degradation. Most importantly, she elaborated on the importance of volunteerism for the rehabilitation of the river. In this context, actions of volunteerism vary and are a cornerstone for the rivers rehabilitation; to mention a couple of examples, individuals concerned about the status of the river can launch their own campaigns using the toolkits created by EcoPeace to this end. Signing the covenant and gathering signatures is another way of supporting the rehabilitation of the Jordan River. Visit the links provided at the end of this post for more information about the campaign and the toolkits produced and use your creativity to find out ways to participate in the Rehabilitation of the River.
Reverend Victor H. Kazanjian, Jr., URI’s Executive Director said “URI Cooperation Circles bring peace, justice, and healing into the lives of people suffering from the violence of war and the impact of injustice, as well as to a world scattered by environmental devastation. … by drawing on the wisdom of all traditions, URI is a spiritual and humanitarian force for good in the world.”
At EcoPeace, we are hoping that the wisdom of all traditions will manage to save the Jordan River.
http://foeme.org/uploads/13832213651~%5E$%5E~JR_Covenant.pdf
http://foeme.org/www/?module=publications&project_id=23
http://foeme.org/www/ar/?module=publications&project_id=23
This post is contributed by Samar M. Salma, EcoPeace Media Officer at the Amman Office.