Sing4Him
November 10th, 2008, 10:13 AM
Spiritual leaders gather in Aspen
Group hopes to discover collective voice
Carolyn Sackariason
The Aspen Times
Aspen CO, Colorado,
ASPEN — About 150 spiritual leaders from around the world have descended upon Aspen, working together over four days to form a collective voice of peace in an effort to bring healing to the nation, which is facing unprecedented challenges.
Today marks the final day of the Global Peace Initiative of Women’s “Gathering Spiritual Voices of America,” which is being held at the Doerr-Hosier Center at the Aspen Institute.
The gathering was deliberately scheduled two days after the presidential election. Organizers said that during the past several years, the nation has become politically and religiously polarized. The initiative is an effort to end the divisions by tapping the values shared by all religious traditions and focusing on the vision of unity.
Dr. Tom Coburn, president of Naropa University in Boulder, said he has found the summit to be extremely significant in that it has recognized people’s commonalties and celebrated their differences.
“I think last week’s election is symbolic of a change in American culture but also in its consciousness,” he said. “What this conference is doing is to bring together hundreds of people who are manifesting that in their work around the world.”
The goal is to find a new vehicle for religious leaders so their collective voices can provide guidance in times of crisis and be an inspiration for a new type of activism, based on love and compassion, rather than fear and anger.
Included among the group are Father Thomas Keating, senior monastic, St. Benedict’s Monastery in Old Snowmass; Rabbi Zalman Schachter-Shalomi, founder of the Jewish Renewal Movement; Ven. Bhikkhu Bodhi, chairman of the American Buddhist Association; Rev. Joan Brown Campbell, former general secretary of the National Council of Churches; Swami Atmarupananda, senior monastic of the Ramakrishna Mission; Imam Mohamed Bashar Arafat, founder and president of........
http://www.aspentimes.com/article/20081109/NEWS/811089983/1077&ParentProfile=1058&title=Spiritual%20leaders%20gather%20in%20Aspen,%2 0hope%20to%20discover%20collective%20voice
Group hopes to discover collective voice
Carolyn Sackariason
The Aspen Times
Aspen CO, Colorado,
ASPEN — About 150 spiritual leaders from around the world have descended upon Aspen, working together over four days to form a collective voice of peace in an effort to bring healing to the nation, which is facing unprecedented challenges.
Today marks the final day of the Global Peace Initiative of Women’s “Gathering Spiritual Voices of America,” which is being held at the Doerr-Hosier Center at the Aspen Institute.
The gathering was deliberately scheduled two days after the presidential election. Organizers said that during the past several years, the nation has become politically and religiously polarized. The initiative is an effort to end the divisions by tapping the values shared by all religious traditions and focusing on the vision of unity.
Dr. Tom Coburn, president of Naropa University in Boulder, said he has found the summit to be extremely significant in that it has recognized people’s commonalties and celebrated their differences.
“I think last week’s election is symbolic of a change in American culture but also in its consciousness,” he said. “What this conference is doing is to bring together hundreds of people who are manifesting that in their work around the world.”
The goal is to find a new vehicle for religious leaders so their collective voices can provide guidance in times of crisis and be an inspiration for a new type of activism, based on love and compassion, rather than fear and anger.
Included among the group are Father Thomas Keating, senior monastic, St. Benedict’s Monastery in Old Snowmass; Rabbi Zalman Schachter-Shalomi, founder of the Jewish Renewal Movement; Ven. Bhikkhu Bodhi, chairman of the American Buddhist Association; Rev. Joan Brown Campbell, former general secretary of the National Council of Churches; Swami Atmarupananda, senior monastic of the Ramakrishna Mission; Imam Mohamed Bashar Arafat, founder and president of........
http://www.aspentimes.com/article/20081109/NEWS/811089983/1077&ParentProfile=1058&title=Spiritual%20leaders%20gather%20in%20Aspen,%2 0hope%20to%20discover%20collective%20voice