Elijah Leaders at Oxford Meeting

Source: Elijah Interfaith Institute

Follow Elijah Leaders at Oxford Meeting

As this newsletter is released, members of the Elijah Board of World Religious Leaders will be gathering in Oxford in the UK for the 12th meeting of this important body. 30 leaders from 6 different religious traditions from around the world will explore the topic "The Human Person: Religious Ideals and Contemporary Challenges."

Our meetings have always included a public event to expose the local religious communities to our work. This year, for the first time, the event will also be available on Zoom.

You are invited to join us for the final session of the Elijah Board of World Religions, live from Oxford, featuring Archbishop Rowan Williams, Rabbi Art Green, Swami Atmapriyananda and other leaders.

Here is the Zoom link.

For many of you it will be your first encounter with the Board, so it feels timely to share the history of this flagship Elijah Interfaith activity.

Twenty-two years ago, in Seville, Spain, more than forty religious leaders representing the Buddhist, Christian, Hindu, Jewish and Muslim faiths from more than fifteen countries gathered to discuss, “Religion, Democratic Society and the Other: Hostility, Hospitality and the Hope of Human Flourishing.”

The gathering provided a rare opportunity to forge relationships and embark on collaborative endeavours, while providing a much-needed symbol of interfaith understanding. It was clear that this was not a one-off meeting but the beginning of a unique process of sharing wisdom and fostering peace. Continue Reading:

Meetings of the Elijah Board of World Religious Leaders

As this newsletter is released, members of the Elijah Board of World Religious Leaders will be gathering in Oxford in the UK for the 12th meeting of this important body. It feels timely to share the history of this flagship Elijah Interfaith activity.

Twenty-two years ago, in Seville, Spain, more than forty religious leaders representing the Buddhist, Christian, Hindu, Jewish and Muslim faiths from more than fifteen countries gathered to discuss, “Religion, Democratic Society and the Other: Hostility, Hospitality and the Hope of Human Flourishing.” The gathering provided a rare opportunity to forge relationships and embark on collaborative endeavours, while providing a much-needed symbol of interfaith understanding. It was clear that this was not a one-off meeting but the beginning of a unique process of sharing wisdom and fostering peace.

Two years later, the 2nd Meeting of the Elijah Board of World Religions Leaders, was hosted at the Museum of World Religions, in Wu-Lai, Taiwan. The process that had been employed for the first meeting and had proven so successful was once again implemented. A group of scholars representing each of the faith communities, the Elijah Academy, worked together to produce the materials that the religious leaders would discuss: their topic, “The Crisis of the Holy.” As the academy members explained, this topic was devised to stimulate “the rethinking of long standing religious postures, allowing for adopting inclusive rather than exclusionary positions, and providing both the means and the methods to ensure the creative and spiritual strengthening of religions.”

The 3rd Meeting of the Elijah Board of World Religions Leaders, in November 2007, was held in Amritsar, India. The theme for the meeting was: Sharing Wisdom: The Case of Love and Forgiveness. The meeting brought together 50 religious leaders and scholars from around the world and included representatives from each of the major religions: Judaism, Islam, Christianity, Buddhism and the Religions of India (including the Sikh religion). It also served the scholarly and student community at Amritsar, through involvement of the local university, Guru Nanak Dev University. This meeting was honoured to include His Holiness the Dalai Lama, who later said that “The Elijah Institute is the Most Profound and Intimate Group Working in Interfaith.”

The fourth bi-annual meeting of the Elijah Board of World Religious Leaders in Israel from October 18–22, 2009. The topic was “The Future of Religious Leadership”. The stated aim of the conference was to foster a deeper understanding, respect and appreciation for the other religions, to work on growing in awareness, forgiveness and reaching out towards others, focusing on peace, while staying firm in one’s own religious roots. The program of the Conference took place in Haifa, Galilee & Jerusalem.Following that was the 2012 meeting at the Brah

Many of these meetings of the Board of World Religious Leaders have led to the publications of books in our Interreligious Reflections series. Others have launched on built on ongoing campaigns. In every case, religious leaders have inspired each other and strengthened their spiritual friendships and the upcoming meeting in Oxford, where we will explore “The Human Person: Religious Ideals and Contemporary Challenges,” will be no less significant.

Special Book Sale - 50% Off!

Wipf and Stock are having a special sale: 50% off the entire Interreligious Reflections series, which includes all eight volumes published in collaboration with the Elijah Interfaith Institute.

This is a wonderful opportunity to explore the deep scholarship and wisdom that has emerged over three decades of interreligious dialogue.

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