Upcoming Inter-Christian, Inter-Religious Opportunities for Friends
Here are two upcoming opportunities for Friends to participate in inter-Christian, inter-religious gatherings.
Ecumenical Advocacy Days
April 25-27, 2023, Virtual
Want to meet with other Christians of many theological perspectives to learn to advocate for human rights, justice and nonviolence together? This meeting may be for you!
Ecumenical Advocacy Days—more fully, Ecumenical Advocacy Days for Global Peace with Justice—is an ecumenical (inter-Christian) network of organizations that join together to advocate in the United States on matters of joint social-political concern such as human rights, justice and nonviolence. Friends Committee on National Legislation (FCNL) is a member of the network.
This year’s theme is “Swords into Plowshares.” The schedule includes worship, skills workshops, a plenary session on militarism and peacemaking, a plenary on food security, and opportunities to meet by state.
Ecumenical Advocacy Days is a movement of the ecumenical Christian community, and its recognized partners and allies, grounded in biblical witness and our shared traditions of justice, peace and the integrity of creation. Our goal, through worship, theological reflection and opportunities for learning and witness, is to strengthen our Christian voice and to mobilize for advocacy on a wide variety of U.S. domestic and international policy issues.” It “has become the premier Christian advocacy event in the United States, bringing together 1,000 faith advocates each year to mobilize for action and to make a public witness on Capitol Hill. EAD has addressed such issues as food justice, economy & livelihood, poverty & hunger, immigration & refugees, climate change, national & international security, and issues especially affecting women and children around the world.
The EAD Website
Parliament of the World’s Religions
August 14-18, 2023, at McCormick Place Lakeside Center, Chicago, Illinois
Want to dive into one religion after another to get a taste of what they’re about? This meeting may be for you!
The Parliament of the World’s Religions is the world’s premier interfaith gathering. The theme of this year’s event is A Call to Conscience: Defending Freedom & Human Rights. Though it is called a “Parliament,” it does not legislate. It exists to promote interreligious friendship, understanding and harmony. The Parliament is an open conference that makes available experiential entrée into a great number of world religions, both large and small. It is a very large gathering with an abundance of opportunities to discover other religions. It meets in different places around the world. The Parliament’s website has a comprehensive history available for perusal.
On behalf of Friends General Conference, Illinois Yearly Meeting will be hosting an opportunity for attenders to experience unprogrammed Friends Meeting for Worship.
Parliament convenings are the world’s oldest, largest, and most inclusive gatherings of the
The PWR Website
global interfaith movement. Our Mission: The Parliament of the World’s Religions was created to cultivate harmony among the world’s religious and spiritual communities and foster their engagement with the world and its guiding institutions in order to achieve a just, peaceful and sustainable world. To accomplish this, we invite individuals and communities who are equally invested in attaining this goal.
Registrants to the 2023 Parliament will be able to attend plenary meetings and breakout sessions, have access to cultural exhibits, art installations, performances, and film festivals; and will be able to connect with organizations and individuals of many different faith traditions.