Newsletter 14 Nov 2021

Kia ora koutou, warm greetings to you all.

Here are two updates for you:

UN COP26 in Glasgow, Scotland

Climate Change: A Global Crisis – a Global Conference – our Religious and Interfaith Communities
What now?
The COP26 conference in Glasgow has completed its work. The final document entitled the Glasgow Climate Pact calls on 197 countries to report their progress towards more climate ambition next year. Nations, including New Zealand, must review and report their goals to cut emissions next year and again two years later. The pressure is on to take more effective action than has been pledged so far!
As ‘our man in Glasgow’, Rod Oram, was preparing to leave Glasgow, he assured us that although the final document would fall short and be disappointing, nevertheless he was impressed with all that he saw happening in the halls of negotiation:

“The Spirit was certainly moving swiftly and boldly through all those people….
and what we need now amongst us is a ‘tsunami of Spirit.”

From his experience at the COP Rod is convinced that it is the activity of civil society – religious and interfaith groups included – that is going to carry that momentum forward and make the difference.
And as the Statement that was endorsed by religious leaders and interfaith groups and presented to the Government said:
Key to religious teaching is the understanding that sustainable and harmonious relationships between all of humanity and nature is not merely an abstract ideal but rather a comprehensive guide for living justly and walking gently upon the earth.

The Religious Diversity Centre offers some resources for reflection as we move to make a difference, into a new future, a better and sustainable future, as agents of change – ‘walking the talk”.

They are available on the RDC website.
The Statement to the Government document.
The Presentation of the Statement to the Minister for Climate Change, short and long videos.
Three conversations from New Zealand with Rod Oram:
1. Rod’s Reflections on the Road to COP26
2. Reflections on Indigenous voices, Maori and Pasifika, at COP26
3. In conversation with Rod and Dr Maureen Sier, Director of Interfaith Scotland, on the last day of COP26

RDC Calendar 2022
The new RDC Interfaith Calendar is now available!
The theme for the calendar is water – for each month we have a picture connected to a particular faith group and to the theme of water.
In times of electronic diaries and e-calendars, a hard-copy calendar might be seen as redundant but going through the year with a new beautiful picture and a list of some relevant holy days every month, can be inspiring. A Yiddish proverb says: “Beautiful is not what is beautiful, but what one likes.” So, we hope that you will like the new calendar.
We are looking forward to your feedback. A comment on the new calendar has been: “Thank you very much for a beautiful Interfaith calendar. So much thought and creativity has gone into planning it.”
You can order up to 5 calendars for $15.00 each and more than 5 for $10.00 each.
Postage is $5.00 for every five calendars.
Order online here.