2023 Year-End Report

THE WORLD-TEACHER PROJECT is an educational and diplomatic mission allied with a vast coalition working through the Internet with maximum creativity and flexibility for environmental stewardship and social action aimed at justice and peace. The Project Manager fosters connections and strategic partnerships, facilitates and moderates conversation, and coordinates action toward common goals. The main task of the Manager is to build relationships: network, listen, influence with strong intelligence, and serve with a spirit of generosity and compassion.

The “Network for Religion, Media, and Civic Life” (in Alumni Fellowship with the Institute for Digital Civic Culture at the University of Southern California) bridges academia, journalists, and policymakers with interfaith actors and communicators to increase the public understanding of religion and its impacts in many domains:

• Declaration Day 2017 
• 2017 Year-End Report 
• 2018 Year-End Report 
• 2019 Year-End Report
• 2020 Year-End Report
• 2021 Year-End Report
• 2022 Year-End Report

Here’s my “top ten” memories from the Year of the Wood Rabbit:

10. Pescadero Municipal Advisory Council (PMAC)

Dr. Patrick Horn was elected to PMAC, established in 1992 to advocate for all issues of concern to the residents of Pescadero, Loma Mar, and the South Coast. The council actively encourages and coordinates public input with the objective to promote the welfare of the Pescadero area as an integral part of both San Mateo County and the State of California. This includes supporting an environmentally progressive community with agricultural character. As a rural farm town and underresourced, disadvantaged unincorporated community, Pescadero has a history of emergencies including wildfires and flooding.

From top left, Jellybean the Postal Service Cat was evicted from local facility by USPS district manager; Congressional Rep. Anna Eshoo intervened; County Supervisor Ray Mueller (pictured with legislative aide Kathleen M. and PMAC members Nic Erridge and Rob Skinner) persuaded the Coastal Commission to overrule regulations that prohibited development necessary so local schools have clean drinking water; new climate change policies with State Senator Josh Becker; new Coastside Police Squad Captain with Sheriff’s Deputies; broadband phalanx includes local, county, state, and federal partners; Farmworkers Commission prioritized affordable quality healthcare, education about rights (civil, labor, housing), and affordable housing development; emergency preparedness fair at the Community Church on Stage Road.

Faith in Action Bay Area trained our local farmworkers with essential tools (e.g. public speaking, consensus building, effective outreach strategies, etc.) needed to organize successful advocacy campaigns, and some residents shared their priorities with a group of faith leaders in the Peninsula Solidarity Cohort. A working group of partners united for resilience, response, and recovery have applied for grants to build capacity and social infrastructure for climate change adaptation including neighborhood-level coordination and communications at the household-level. Dr. Horn also serves on the steering committee for the Pescadero Community Plaza.

9. Pacific Coast Band

Certified by Radio Indie Alliance: “Run River Run” (based on poetry by Swami Vivekananda) reached #1 in UK-London, #2 in the United States (AK, CA, CO, CT, FL, IA, IN, KS, LA, MA, ME, MO, NM, NY, OH, PA, SD, TX, UT, VA, WA, WI), #3 in Los Angeles, #3 in Australia, #8 in New York, and #15 globally in Argentina, Austria, Canada, France, Germany, Ireland, Japan, Luxembourg, Mexico, Netherlands, Poland, New Zealand, Norway, Scotland, South Africa, Spain, Sweden! It is featured with the Pacific Coast Band‘s previous #1 hit single, “The Flying Saucer Song,” and other favorite tunes on a Greatest Hits collection. Singer-Songwriter-Producer Patrick Horn was profiled in the Janesville Gazette: “The Son of White Buffalo Calf Woman” is a musician who united the world’s religions in a time of many troubles. He performed the song at the Parliament of World’s Religions, and it was also featured during a Peace Sundays episode. Donate to the Artist.

8. Peace Sundays

Dr. Patrick Horn is a co-host and co-producer of the sacred activism broadcast series, Peace Sundays. He serves as co-chair of the Environmental Stewardship Committee of the Unity and Diversity World Council and One Global Family Alliance (a cooperation circle of the United Religions Initiative (URI), a non-governmental organization with consultative status at the United Nations Economic and Social Council (UN-ECOSOC). This year’s livestreamed programs with interfaith leaders and indigenous elders were timed to World Interfaith Harmony Week, World Water Day, and Earth Day/Arbor Day.

7. The Art of Spiritual Direction

Dr. Patrick Horn received training in Catholic companionship from the Center for Ecumenical and Interreligious Engagement at Seattle University. “Soul Care” is an ancient practice in which one person serves as guide, conversation partner, and co-discerner with another who intentionally seeks to explore and grow in spiritual life [reconnecting to true identity in relationship with others, focused and attentive to the divine will, on a path toward righteousness, or holiness and sainthood]. The director asks facilitating questions and helps the seeker to articulate their unique faith experiences, grasp their implications, and make choices based on interpretive assumptions. Both partners seek to discover the origin, meaning, and purpose of religious experience and “leadings” (or promptings), not limited to the early stages of practices and spontaneous experiences of God, but throughout a lifetime of growth in ethical character and virtue, love, and compassion. Dr. Horn also completed a Pierre Teilhard de Chardin masterclass which was developed by Stanford University, UC-Berkeley, Fordham University, St Mary’s College, and others. He participated in a professional development workshop with the Jesuit Conference and continues to practice his improvisational skills in the California Arts Council sponsored Capital Storytelling Community Story Lab.

6. Religion Communicators Council

The Religion Communicators Council (RCC), founded in 1929, is an association of communications professionals who work for and with a diverse group of faith-based organizations in the areas of communications, public relations, advertising and development. Members represent a variety of communications disciplines, including: editors, writers and designers, photographers, videographers, broadcast, social media, web developers, marketers, fundraisers, project managers, and students.

Dr. Patrick Horn, a past RCC Governor and Membership Committee Chair, currently serves as an Awards Judge, and he participated in a professional development workshop on Faith and A.I. featuring PRophet.AI (headquartered at 1 World Trade Center, NY). “A bot trained on all human knowledge wants a job on your support team.” He also served this year as a consultant to the Forecasting Research Institute (UPenn) and as a grant reviewer for the California Arts Council.

5. Parliament of World’s Religions

The Parliament of World’s Religions, the oldest and largest interfaith organization, convened in Chicago to celebrate the 130th-anniversary since the inaugural event seven generations ago in 1893. Almost 7,000 people from 200 traditions and 80 countries gathered at McCormick Place, the largest convention center in North America for programs including a plenary featuring the Interfaith Rainforest Initiative (see below, senior program advisor Dr. Charles McNeill). Global media network reach was 2.5-billion people.

Dr. Patrick Horn co-produced two well-attended and well-received panels focused on prophecy and water. The coordinated movement continued through the Interfaith G20 and the Faith Pavilion at COP28, which included a plenary address by Ojibwe Great-Grandmother Mary Lyons (see below).

Meanwhile, Dr. Horn is participating in training workshops hosted by the Oracle Institute and personal mentoring with U.N. Messenger of Peace nominee Rev. Patrick McCollum (see below). He is the builder of the World Peace Violin, which broke during the Parliament and was later repaired. Both Patricks are actively involved behind-the-scenes in sensitive high-level multi-lateral negotiations for conflict resolution and a more peaceful, just, and sustainable world.

4. American Academy of Religion

Dr. Patrick Horn wrote a new article about Vedantic Cosmopolitanism for Reading Religion, an open-access book review website published by AAR, the world’s largest association of academics who research or teach topics related to religion. An anthology of all his contributions to the platform is now available.

3. Interfaith University

Dr. Patrick Horn produced an online study program for PRACTICAL VEDANTA that explores the global history, core concepts, key texts, essential practices, and influential personalities of this spiritual philosophy.

1) History: Vedanta in the East
2) History: Vedanta in the West
3) Principles: Core Philosophical Concepts
4) Processes and Practices: Duty and Action
5) Processes and Practices: Devotion
6) Processes and Practices: Meditation
7) Processes and Practices: Knowledge
8) Personalities: Sri Ramakrishna
9) Personalities: Swami Vivekananda
10) Personalities: Aldous Huxley

2. United Lodge of Theosophists

Dr. Patrick Horn was invited to be a special guest lecturer, and he compared Theosophy with Vedanta, discussed the attitudes of Sri Ramakrishna and Swami Vivekananda toward Theosophy, and traced the history of the movement from the first Parliament of World’s Religions through the development of an esoteric colony in California, which was intended as the site for the further evolution of mankind and emergence of the Future Buddha as the Christ of the Aquarian Age.

1. Vedanta Society

Dr. Patrick Horn is an initiated member of the Vedanta Society, which he first encountered in Hollywood on Christmas Eve twenty years ago. He enthusiastically sang along with the Christmas carols, so the Choir Director invited him to join the group. His diksha guru was Swami Swahananda, and during his training, which included extended residencies at various centers, he received the ideal of Philosopher-Farmer, or राजर्षि. His spiritual formation and interfaith action was realized especially through the sympathy and support of Swami Atmatattwananda, aka Shiva Maharaj. Dr. Horn cheerfully celebrated the special anniversary with three holiday music programs in Southern California.

Christmas Eve is also the founding of the Ramakrishna Order in 1886, and Swami Vivekananda (who traveled to Chicago in 1893 with a copy of the Imitation of Christ) celebrated the holiday ten years later at the Vatican in 1896. In the 1980s, a monk of the Ramakrishna Order had an audience with His Holiness the Pope at the Vatican. John Paul II said with a smile: “I know everything about you.” What he knew about the Ramakrishna Order he did not, however, disclose.

2022 Year-End Report

THE WORLD-TEACHER PROJECT is an educational and diplomatic mission allied with a vast coalition working through the Internet with maximum creativity and flexibility for environmental stewardship and social action aimed at justice and peace. The Project Manager fosters connections and strategic partnerships, facilitates and moderates conversation, and coordinates action toward common goals. The main task of the Manager is to build relationships: network, listen, influence with strong intelligence, and serve with a spirit of generosity and compassion.

The “Network for Religion, Media, and Civic Life” (in Fellowship with the Institute for Digital Civic Culture at the University of Southern California) bridges academia, journalists, and policymakers with interfaith actors and communicators to increase the public understanding of religion and its impacts in many domains:

• Declaration Day 2017 
• 2017 Year-End Report 
• 2018 Year-End Report 
• 2019 Year-End Report
• 2020 Year-End Report
• 2021 Year-End Report

Here’s my “top ten” memories from the Year of the Water Tiger:

10. #WhenPropheciesComeTrue

“The Son of White Buffalo Calf Woman” is a musician who united the world’s religions during a time of many troubles. Patrick Horn and the Pacific Coast Band is a fifteen-minute documentary developed with support from Capital Storytellers and the California Arts Council featuring an artist interview, archival material, and excerpts of original music and cover songs: Add Some Music, Old Time Rock-n-Roll, Waiting For Love, Full Moon Fever, One More Song, Meant To Be, In Dreams, Takin’ Care of Business, The Flying Saucer Song (certified #1 indie radio hit), Comeback, Blowin’ in the Wind, Good Vibrations.

9. Live! in Los Angeles

Patrick Horn performed “Rock Around The Clock” during Hambone’s New Year’s Eve webcast. The Pacific Coast Band returned to Kulak’s Woodshed (the world-famous N. Hollywood 49-seat music listening room and recording studio “for beginners to Grammy Winners” with HD livestreaming and audio ProTools operated by volunteers and sponsored by donations) to perform a showcase including “Music Has The Heart” and five original songs composed by Patrick Horn. Live! in Los Angeles was distributed to all streaming and download platforms on 1/11.

8. #TheWorldTeacherIsHere – Academic Director, Global Interfaith University

Patrick Horn, D.Div was appointed to the Governing Council of Global Interfaith University, an accredited non-profit distance learning organization with a compelling vision of high-quality liberal arts education for human potential. He serves as the Academic Director. The Founder/President Dr. Emmanuel Ande Ivorgba wrote: “You are a great interfaith leader, an excellent scholar, a reputable and compassionate development practitioner and renowned Peacebuilder. Your appointment on the Governing Council of Global Interfaith University is clearly a confirmation of the amazing personal qualities that you possess, and which you have demonstrated over the years. We all look forward to working very closely and learning together, from your wealth of wisdom, knowledge, and many years of practice.”

7. World Interfaith Harmony Week: Past, Present, and Future

Patrick Horn is a co-host and co-producer of the sacred activism broadcast series, Peace Sundays. He serves as co-chair of the Environmental Stewardship Committee of the Unity and Diversity World Council and One Global Family Foundation (a cooperation circle of the United Religions Initiative).

Interfaith action this year included: a delegation of religious leaders negotiated a temporary ceasefire in Ukraine to allow safe passage for civilians; I met with Ukraine President Zelenskyy in a diplomatic call aimed at a peace treaty; an interreligious congress met in Kazakhstan in support of religious freedom; and the Pope and other leaders gathered at the Colosseum in Rome to appeal for an end to the nuclear threat. Pope Francis also asked forgiveness from indigenous peoples for abuses and snuck out of the Vatican to visit a record store.

6. Seeds of Peace: Trillion Trees Challenge (16,000 views)

In accord with the Parliament of World’s Religions’ Declaration of a Global Ethic, I feel a personal responsibility for world peace and the preservation of Earth, and I am committed to a transformation of consciousness and the sustainability and care for the Earth. The PoWR’s mission statement directs us to align the interfaith movement and foster its engagement with the world’s guiding institutions for a more just, peaceful, and sustainable world. With reference to the recommendations of the PoWR Climate Action Task Force (CATF), I strongly advise the following four areas of emphasis – forests, farms, funding, and forum:

• In this time of many troubles, when the climate catastrophe appears to be irreversible and humans may be on the brink of extinction, the campaign for forests has been our biggest success. We must expand the impact of PoWR support for the Trillion Trees Challenge, Interfaith Rainforest Initiative, and Amazon Prophecy Project. I serve as a Vice-President of the Native Project of Amazonian Reforestation & Sustainability (NATPRO), which seeks to restore 1,723 degraded hectares in Peru over a 5-year timeline with agroforestry techniques in the rural area of the Tamaya river basin in the Ucayali Region populated by 130 people who will enjoy economic and social benefits as indigenous guardians of the land.

• Faith-based organizations (FBOs) must leverage their assets to set an example of moral leadership. For instance, 8% of habitable surface land is owned by FBOs, who also control 5% of all commercial forests. In places where churches are rapidly closing, that land can be transformed into farms, owned by women and indigenous people, to provide good jobs and local, sustainable, and nutritious food and natural medicines.

• The CATF laments the lack of funding for climate change mitigation which does not have a profit-motive. Response to the emergency has been too little, too late. We must mobilize the influence of faith communities on political leaders and the private sector for urgent governmental and corporate responsibility toward the Earth, plants, animals, and people. The United Religions Initiative announced a grant-writing and fundraising portal with tools and resources for climate action and resilience.

• The Climate Commitments Project is a great engagement concept requiring further development and clear, concise, and compelling communications that inform and inspire. The world needs a vibrant community forum where people can learn about case studies from around the globe, find credible projects and collaborators that can accelerate ideas to impact, measure success in various areas (especially tree-planting), and celebrate our service inspired by diverse traditions. The Parliament of World’s Religions will convene for the 130th-anniversary in Chicago next year.

5. Peace Sunday 40^th Anniversary Commemoration

On 3/17, the Pacific Coast Band recorded 10 songs from the original setlist of the Peace Sunday concert for nuclear disarmament. A performance of “Imagine” was featured during the 40th-anniversary webcast commemoration and in a ten-minute documentary about the history of Peace Sunday and Peace Sundays co-host/co-producer Patrick Horn. The album was distributed to all streaming and download platforms on 6/6, and the first 500 listeners included staff at the United Nations, Global Security Institute, National Peace Academy, World Council of Churches, and the Network for Religious and Traditional Peacemakers. Also, Ringo Starr and Paul McCartney joined cellist Michael Fitzpatrick in a special livestream from Times Square on the International Day of Peace.

4. World Peace and Prayer Day

The 11th white buffalo born (not an albino, but changes color from white to yellow to red to brown in the first year) is a sign of encouragement amidst plagues, famine, war, and death. Do not be afraid! In related news, five red heifers were delivered to Israel for a ritual sacrifice next year for the advent of the Messiah.

3. Return of the King

Sun Records celebrated their 70th-anniversary with a music video challenge, which led to my performing a full concert webcast. Also, Pat Boone’s office sponsored Elvis’ high school friend and 1950s rock-n-roll teen idol Jimmy Angel in a performance and storytelling session at Kulak’s Woodshed.

2. Sacred Trees

The World Wildlife Fund and the United Religions Initiative hosted a two-hour session about tree planting for interfaith groups and individuals. The webcast included case studies of successful tree-planting projects around the world and offered a new guidebook specifically for faith communities!

The Episcopal Church and United Nations hosted a High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development Goal 15: Protect, restore and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, and halt and reverse land degradation and halt biodiversity loss.

At COP27 in Egypt, the British Prime Minister rushed off-stage after whispered messages during the United Nations Forests Partnerships forum, and U.S. President Joe Biden’s speech was interrupted by a howling coyote. Meanwhile, Jews, Muslims, Christians, Hindus and Buddhists from Israel, Egypt, the US, India, Spain, and the UK proclaimed the “Ten Principles for Climate Repentance”:
– We are stewards of this world
– Creation manifests divinity
– Everything in life is interconnected
– Do no harm
– Look after tomorrow
– Rise above ego for our world
– Change our inner climate
– Repent and return
– Every action matters
– Use mind, open heart

1. “On Christmas Day“

Brian Wilson is a multi-platinum, Grammy-winning, Rock and Roll Hall of Fame songwriter and producer, and co-founder of the Beach Boys. His harmonies have always brought me comfort and joy. He invited a lead vocal on an original holiday song, and it was a thrill to sing this great tune for my musical hero and all of you. We wish you a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

18-month Countdown: Mass Extinction Warning

These words are meant only for those who are ready for them. I offer no hope or solutions for the survival of our species, only companionship and empathy. There are no known technologies that can be deployed at world scale to reverse the atmospheric warming, and many climate scientists feel that the window for action is already closed, that we have passed the tipping point and the heat is on a runaway trajectory no matter what we do. Some of the consequences we face are mass die-offs due to widespread drought, flooding, fires, forest mortality, epidemic diseases and ocean acidification — all of which we now see in preview. If we make it through this onslaught of threats, we will still be facing starvation. 

There has never been a greater news story than that of humans facing full extinction, and yet it  is as though the world’s astronomers were telling us that an asteroid is heading our way and will make a direct hit destined to wipe out all of life to which the public responds by remaining fascinated with sporting events, social media, the latest political scandals and celebrity gossip. We love to be distracted, and we have numerous ways of doing that in our time. We pay big money for the privilege, and we run around chasing objects and experiences. We seem to be evolutionarily designed to put aside or entirely ignore future threats and instead focus only on immediate concerns and personal desires. This is understandable since for most of human history there was nothing we could do about future possibilities or events occurring far from where we lived. With some notable exceptions, evolution didn’t select for long-term survival planning. Being concerned about climate change does not come naturally to us. Unless climate chaos is a threat to us today, we don’t think about it. For millennia we  relied on our highly developed sense apparatus as physical creatures to gauge changes and threats in our environment — changes of temperature, weight, pressure, sound or smell. If changes occur at a slow enough pace, they can fly under the radar of our notice.

As you begin to awaken to the specter of extinction, you will likely feel the powerful lure of your usual distractions. You may want to go back to sleep. But denial will become harder and harder to maintain because once your attention has turned to this subject, you will see the evidence of it everywhere, both locally and globally. You will find yourself among the throngs of humanity who are easily distracted and amused, playing with their toys as the house burns, “tranquilized by the trivial,” as Kierkegaard said, and speaking of the future as though it was going to go on as it has. After all, we made it this far. We have proven our superiority at figuring things out and removing obstacles to our desires. We killed off most of the large wild mammals and most of the indigenous peoples to take their lands. We bent nature to our will, paved over her forests and grasslands, rerouted and dammed her rivers, dug up her “ancient sunlight,” and burned that dead creature goo into the atmosphere so that our vehicles could motor us around on land, sea, and air and our weapons could keep our enemies in check. And now we have given Mother Earth a high fever.

You may find yourself in the company of people who seem to have no awareness of the consequences we face or who don’t want to know or who might have a momentary inkling but cannot bear to face it. You may find that people become angry if you steer the conversation in the direction of planetary crisis. You may sense that you are becoming a social pariah due to what you see, even when you don’t mention it, and you may feel lonely in the company of most people you know. It is helpful to realize that most people are not ready for this conversation. They may never be ready, just as some people die after a long illness, still in denial that death was at their doorstep. Some can handle the truth of our situation but most will run from it as though their sanity depended on not seeing it. 

As your awareness metabolizes the deadly threats ahead and the unlikeliness of solutions that will change the course, you might find a strange reordering of your thoughts and motivations.  You may marvel at how many personal conversations with people you know or news items from around the world assume that human life carries on indefinitely. You may find it difficult to hold interest in these conversations and stories. But the habit of future thinking is a hard one to shake. Letting go of the future means reordering your tendencies of thinking about the future. How psychologically invested you have been in your ideas and hopes about the future will likely determine how well you adapt to ignoring those kinds of thoughts as they arise. You may also find a stronger habit in present awareness begin to prevail.

You may feel fury at times in seeing the desecration of the natural world and in realizing its destruction is due to human activity on the planet. We plunged forward with each new way of doing things, each new invention, because it made life easier at the time. There was no intention to destroy ourselves. On the contrary, for most of the time since the Industrial Revolution, it seemed that life was getting better for greater numbers of people. With medical advances, we wiped out most of the contagious deadly diseases, controlled infections and greatly extended life expectancy. We built transportation capabilities that allowed us to travel to the far ends of the earth in a day and thereby learn of other cultures while on their own turf. And then we hooked up with each other in a world of instantaneous communication, which has been a whole lot of fun. But we didn’t factor in the cost of all this bounty as we built modern civilization. We didn’t understand that running the world on fossil fuels that were needed for our machinery — our cars, planes, cargo ships, tankers, electric grids and just about everything — would someday plunge us into a catastrophe. 

I am aware that few people are either ready to hear this information now or will be prepared to face what is ahead in time. It is pointless to try to warn them if they are not ready. My attempts at hinting usually lead to blank stares or agitation. I have come to accept that for some people, their fate is to continue the romp of life, oblivious to the dangers ahead. Maybe it is best that they enjoy whatever good times are left, even though there might be extreme panic in the last phase. Maybe it is just as well that they continue as they have been for as long as possible. Maybe it will postpone chaos and lawlessness until the systems fully crash. But for those of us who cannot look away, we carry the anticipatory grief for those who cannot bear to look.

To stay steady, you may be forced into a witnessing presence, vast enough to contain your grief. You may acclimate to living with grief without the assumption that it should or will dissipate. Despite this or because of it, you may notice a growing tendency to appreciate simple moments of connection and many small joys. We live in a time when managing our attention will be all the more necessary to stay calm and to allow us to enjoy and be helpful in whatever time is left. Developing the habit of redirecting your awareness when your mind is lost in fear or troubling stories induces strength along the way. Despite our having caused so much destruction, it is important to also consider the wide spectrum of possibilities that make up a human life. Yes, on one end of that spectrum is greed, cruelty and ignorance; on the other end is generosity, compassion and wisdom. That is most needed now. 

Edited from the long-form essay “Facing Extinction” by Catherine Ingram.

2018 – Year in Review

2018 was another year of victories for my interfaith ministry and the further development of the “Network for Religion, Media, and Civic Life” bridging academia, journalists, and policymakers to increase the public understanding of religion and its impacts in many domains. Here’s my “top ten” memories from the Year of the Earth Dog:

10. Reimagining Religion 2018

  
(L): Liz Kineke (Producer, CBS Religion & Culture), Tom Gallagher (CEO, Religion News Service), and Ken Chitwood (Treasurer, Religion News Association [RNA]); (R) Debrah Friedland-VanZyl (Co-Chair, SCCPWR So Cal Committee for a Parliament of the World’s Religions), Danny Hall (Director of Public Affairs, SGI-USA), and Megan Anderson, (Webmaster, The Interfaith Observer)

Over 300 people attended the conference [I received free registration from the RNA] at University of Southern California’s Center for Religion and Civic Culture. I curated a Twitter Moment and videos of the panels are posted online. My schedule included: “Engaging Ideas: Religion and Ethics in Entertainment Media,” “Getting Better Coverage,” “New Storytelling Skills and Outreach Strategies,” and “The Future of Religion in Mainstream Media.”

Below: California Interfaith Association (CIA): Interfaith Awareness Week –
Toward an Ecological Civilization – Sharing Our Stories

9. National Council of Churches Dialogue

Gwynne Guibord (pictured above center, with the Guibord Center staff) and the Associate General Secretary of the National Council of Churches Tony Kireopoulos (pictured in green) developed and launched a Christian dialogue with Hindus and Buddhists. The National Council of Churches is an ecumenical partnership of 38 Christian groups representing more than 100,000 local congregations and 40 million adherents.

In related news, a conference during World Interfaith Harmony Week (Feb 1-7) called “An Alliance of Virtues for the Common Good” concluded with the Washington Declaration, a commitment by Abrahamic traditions for cooperative action and protection of religious minorities. More info available here and here. Recently, the global Islamic community vowed to protect the rights of religious minorities in Muslim majority countries; the U.S. State Department also held a summit to advance religious freedom (see the Potomac Declaration and Plan of Action).

8. American Academy of Religion Public Scholar
    
  
Reading Religion is an open access book review website published by the American Academy of Religion [AAR], the world’s largest association of academics who research or teach topics related to religion. Launched in 2016, the site provides up-to-date coverage of scholarly publishing in religious studies, reviewed by scholars with special interest and/or expertise in the relevant subfields. I contributed seven reviews this year, plus a review published by American Vedantist.

I also enrolled in a variety of professional development programs:

In the HarvardX program, we explored a series of contemporary conflicts in different regions of the world with a special focus on identifying and analyzing the diverse and complex roles that religions play in both promoting and mitigating violence in each context. We learned a method for recognizing and analyzing how religious ideologies are embedded in all arenas of human agency and not isolated from political, economic, and cultural life as is often assumed. In addition to examining the conflicts themselves, we also explored the religious dimensions of the impacts those conflicts have on civic life in areas such as public health, education, and commerce.

The program in Interfaith Leadership at Dominican University offered a comprehensive and academically rigorous examination of the history of interfaith cooperation in the United States as well as its importance in today’s society.

I also participated in training webinars with the Religion Freedom Center, Harvard Pluralism Project, and the Emergency Management Institute.
   

7. Religion Communicators Council convention in Atlanta
 
(LEFT) Larry Greenfield, Executive Director of the Parliament of the World’s Religions; Bud Heckman, President of the Religion Communicators Council and [former] Executive Director of Religions for Peace USA; and Paul Chaffee, publisher of The Interfaith Observer. (RIGHT) L to R: Ryan Koch, ‎Director of Public and International Affairs for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints; Shirley Whipple Struchen, Executive Director of Religion Communicators Council, Megan Anderson, Associate Editor of The Interfaith Observer; Joyce Litoff, Communications for Bahai National Center.
 
The Religion Communicators Council (RCC), founded in 1929, is an association of communications professionals who work for and with a diverse group of faith-based organizations in the areas of communications, public relations, advertising and development. Members represent a variety of communications disciplines, including: editors, writers and designers, photographers, videographers, broadcast, social media, web developers, marketers, fundraisers, project managers, and students.
 
The RCC “Realizing the Dream” Agenda includes: From Theory to Practice in Interfaith Studies, Visualizing Your 15 Minutes of Fame, Reputation Management in Our Modern Age, Enhancing Your Story with Digital Media, Integrated Communication for Advocacy. Dr. Deanna Ferree Womack of the Candler School of Theology at Emory University gave a presentation entitled “Interreligious Communication: How Does It Look, How Should It Look – Models from the 19th, 20th, and 21st Centuries.”

I am a volunteer on the Social Media Committee and edited two-dozen press releases from various writers whom I organized to cover the event. See also my curated Twitter moment for highlights.

6. Vedanta Center of Atlanta

A short visit to the Vedanta Center of Atlanta evolved into an extended residency. During this time, I contributed two essays to American Vedantist:

For Personal Liberation and the Welfare of the World (#72, Winter 2017-18)
The Hidden History of Vedanta in the West (#73, Spring 2018)

 
I also gave several Sunday lectures by invitation and led a four-week class on the Narada Bhakti Sutra:

My Approach to Vedanta (April 8, 2018)
The First Step to Freedom (June 17, 2018)
The Harmony of Religions (September 9, 2018)
Discipleship (October 7, 2018)

5. Atlanta Interfaith Engagement

Above: (1) Atlanta Interfaith Leaders Forum “Taste of Faith” at Unity Atlanta Church. (2) Faith Alliance of Metro Atlanta President Haley Hart and American Vedantist Coordinating Editor Br. Shankara at Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. (3) Faith in Public Life “Justice Day” at Georgia State Capitol. (4) “Cultivating Eco-Consciousness Within Communities of Faith” (promoted in the Jerusalem Post) with David Miron-Wapner, Board Chair of the Interfaith Center for Sustainable Development at Columbia Theological Seminary. I also attended the interspiritual dialogue circles organized by Steven Gold on the second Sunday at Shamballa Center and the fourth Sunday at the Vedanta Center of Atlanta.

Below: The United Religions Initiative (URI) North American Regional Coordinator Sari Heidenreich (left) visited Atlanta, and I arranged with Br. Shankara to host a lunch at the Vedanta Center including members of  Faith Alliance of Metro Atlanta, Interfaith Community Initiatives, and Compassionate Atlanta. Sari invited me to join the Logistics Working Group for the upcoming URI Regional Assembly (pictured at right). Our committee includes a representative from the Silicon Valley Interreligious Council (bottom right of screenshot) [see also: the Google HQ Prayer Circle].

4. United Religions Initiative – North American Regional Assembly

Pictured (L to R): Delegates to the North American Regional Assembly in Baltimore, the Planning Team, the Logistics Working Group, and members of the Religion Communicators Council (RCC). Greeting URI delegates at airport; URI Regional Assembly in session & breakroom; Executive Director Victor Kazanjian in San Francisco.

URI is a United Nations non-governmental organization and worldwide grassroots interfaith network of more than 900 cooperation circles in over 100 countries engaged in conflict resolution and reconciliation, environmental sustainability, education, women’s and youth programs, and advocacy for human rights.

3. Reimagining Interfaith in D.C.

Multiple organizations with different constituents:
Collegiality → Coordination → Cooperation → Collaboration → Consistency → Collective Impact toward Common Goals

Building an interfaith movement that doesn’t flatten differences; advocates of moral values and the voice of praise and critique in a fragmented and dysfunctional society. Read a synopsis here.

L to R: Dialogue Group #27; #TheWorldTeacherIsHere with United Religions Initiative Executive Director Victor Kazanjian, CBS Religion & Culture Producer Liz Kineke, and Reimagining Interfaith Communications Fellow Tahil Sharma; the United Religions Initiative booth; religious leaders and representatives of multiple faith groups promote peace, love, and harmony in speeches, songs, and chants then marched in solidarity at the White House. [See also: rainbow over the Freemasonry HQ]

2. U.S. Institute of Peace diplomacy workshop
  
Pictured: Tarek Maassarani, program director for Salam Institute for Peace and Justice, and Susan Hayward, senior advisor at United States Institute of Peace.

The U.S. Institute of Peace sponsored my attendance in a 3-day workshop focused on religion and conflict analysis, and the peacebuilding roles of religious actors in mediation and reconciliation. Our working group analyzed a variety of situations and made suggestions for new partnerships of mutual benefit.

1. Parliament of World’s Religions in Toronto

The Parliament of World’s Religions, the oldest and largest interfaith organization, convened to celebrate the 125th-anniversary since the inaugural event seven generations ago in 1893. I co-hosted a live-streaming morning show for the United Religions Initiative, promoted my original song on the URI artist compilation, and wrote a review of the proceedings for the RCC. 

Pictured (Top L to R): #TheWorldTeacherIsHere with Father Alexei Smith, Vatican Interfaith Liaison; Rev. Larry Greenfield, Executive Director of the Parliament of World’s Religions; Bishop William Swing, United Religions Initiative Founder; Tom Gallagher, CEO of Religion News Service; Mohammed Abu-Nimer, KAICIID Senior Advisor; Rabbi David Rosen; theologian John Cobb; Rev. Fletcher Harper, Executive Director of GreenFaith, the steering committee for the Interfaith Rainforest Initiative, member of the Parliament of World’s Religions Climate Action Task Force,  appeared in workshops at Grace Cathedral in association with the Global Climate Action Summit [see: Climate Land Challenge]; Chief Arvol Looking Horse, 19th-Generation Keeper of the Sacred White Buffalo Calf Pipe; and Pato Banton, producer of the URI compilation “All in This Together.”

The birth of a rare white buffalo in fulfillment of Lakota Sioux prophecy was announced during the Parliament. The sacred animal is an sign of encouragement in a time of many troubles and a promise of human extinction averted through divine intervention.

This can be a good time. Share! Play! Smile! Laugh!

2017 – Year In Review

2017 was a successful year for my interfaith ministry and for the further development of the “Network for Religion, Media, and Civic Life” bridging academia, journalists, and policymakers to increase the public understanding of religion and its impacts in many domains. Here’s my “top ten” memories from the Year of the Fire Rooster:

 

10. Reimagining Religion

 

#TheWorldTeacherIsHere with Brie Loskota, Executive Director of the University of Southern California Center for Religion and Civic Culture (L) and members of the Southern California Committee for the Parliament of World’s Religions (R).

John Templeton Foundation sponsored a conversation about the future of faith in America as represented by Los Angeles, a landscape of possibilities, innovation, repurposing for new meaning, and creative problem-solving. See my Twitter Moment for highlights from the one-day event, including Buddhism and Mindfulness, Competing Voices, and Religious Nones.

 

9. Reading Religion articles

   
    

Reading Religion is an open-access book review website published by the American Academy of Religion [AAR], the world’s largest association of academics who research or teach topics related to religion. Launched in 2016, the site provides up-to-date coverage of publishing in religious studies, reviewed by scholars with special interest and/or expertise in the relevant subfields. Reviews are concise, comprehensive, and timely.

I contributed eight articles as an independent scholar on topics ranging from religious literacy to religious freedom to religion in human rights and international affairs. My review of religions at the United Nations was retweeted by the European Academy of Religion and shared in the World Council of Churches – International Affairs channel during the U.N. General Assembly meeting. My article on human trafficking was featured on social media during a weeklong campaign by the U.S. Embassy to the Holy See (Vatican).

 

8. Claremont Lincoln University digital conference

   

My alma mater Claremont Lincoln University hosted “Navigating a World in Transition: Creating New Maps for Foreign Affairs,” a 2-day digital conference with 10 partners and 6 panels featuring 27 experts. Topics included “Religious/Cultural Humility and International Security” and “Religion and Public Life.”

SYNOPSIS: Context has become irrelevant in U.S. political narratives. The Frontier Thesis (Manifest Destiny) requires a denial of history to avoid responsibility for the Native American genocide and other atrocities that undermine the rhetoric of progress. News has been dumbed down into entertainment and simple competition/antagonism stories that ignore complexity. Why is the market more important than people? What makes a good society? Religious organizations and faith actors must unite with neighbors and citizens to meet the basic needs of marginalized populations, challenge the roots of conflict over resources and power, and discredit extremists and the unreasonable justification of hostilities that escalate into war and domination. Instigators need to own their ignorance, arrogance, and illusions, and stop resisting dialogue that promotes peace and cooperation.

 

7. #EndHumanTrafficking campaign

My alma mater Claremont Lincoln University also hosted a community conversation on detecting and destroying modern slavery. Pope Francis described the problem as ugly and cruel, and the Vatican prioritized combatting human trafficking and action that protects children. The United Religions Initiative distributed a resource packet to over nine hundred cooperation circles in more than one hundred countries, and the United Nations Children’s Fund [UNICEF] offered an Interfaith Toolkit to End Trafficking. Policy experts at the Stimson Center recommended an Agenda for Action for the President’s Interagency Task Force, and President Donald Trump promised to sign pending legislation by the US Congress. The US State Department donated $25 million to the Voluntary Trust Fund for Victims in support of the UN Global Plan of Action to Combat Trafficking In Persons. Tech innovators are also fighting child exploitation with support from the US Department of Homeland Security. People of good will and conscience are mobilized to protect the most vulnerable and support victims of this wicked crime.

 

6. Religion Communicators Council convention in Chicago

 

#TheWorldTeacherIsHere with Religion Communicator Council interns (L) and Larry Greenfield, Executive Director of the Parliament of World’s Religions; Bud Heckman, President of Religions For Peace USA, and Paul Chaffee, Editor-in-Chief of the Interfaith Observer.

See my Twitter Moment for highlights from the three-day event, including a faith response to gun violence, training in crisis communications, and a keynote on religion and diplomacy. Thanks to the United Religions Initiative – North America for providing the scholarship opportunity. I also participated in a webinar on advanced social media strategy.

 

5. Religion News Association conference in Nashville

 

#TheWorldTeacherIsHere with Ken Chitwood, Treasurer of the Religion News Association (thanks for the scholarship!). The annual meeting included topics such as Battles of Church and State, Artificial Intelligence & Fake News, Legacy of the Protestant Reformation, Faith & Fossil Fuels, Future of the Bible Belt, and Trump’s Pastor Paula White on religion and politics, the Hand of God, and repentance. I had a private conversation with her which included a hug, and I got an email reply to my “king note” in under fifteen minutes. See my Twitter Moments from the three-day event: part one and two.

To support the journalistic aspect of my work, I remotely viewed the Online News Association conference, which included an engagement strategy workshop, best practices for Twitter and Facebook, new opportunities for podcasting, and conversations about ethics, opinion journalism, satire (fact-based bias) as political coverage, and fake news / government propaganda / media manipulation. Additionally, I completed a four-week online course offered by the Knight Center for Journalism in the Americas at the University of Texas – Austin; “Product Management for Journalists” included training to develop and execute strategy and best practices for managing digital products. I also participated in News University’s webinar, “Trust-Building Strategies for Journalists” and created a Twitter Moment for the media literacy pilot program “Fighting Fake News.”

 

4. American Academy of Religion meetings in Boston

 

#TheWorldTeacherIsHere with Shaun Casey, Director of Georgetown University Berkley Center for Religion, Peace, and World Affairs and former Special Rep at U.S. Department of State – Office of Religion and Global Affairs (L) and AAR Public Understanding of Religions Committee Chairman Eric Owens (Boston College) and Nathan Walker, Executive Director of 1791 Delegates and former Executive Director, curriculum designer, and instructor at the Newseum Religious Freedom Center (R).

Academics have long stigmatized and rejected the “Perennial Philosophers,” such as Gerald Heard, Aldous Huxley, Joseph Campbell, and Huston Smith (and behind them, Swami Vivekananda and the first teachers of Vedanta in the West). Fortunately, Kimberley Patton declared this irresponsible and an impoverished view of intellectual history. She will reclaim and promote their approach when she teaches theory and methods in the study of religion next year at Harvard Divinity School.

See my Twitter Moment for more highlights from the five-day event, including the collaboration between the FBI and religion scholars, challenges of reporting religion, conspiracism and satire, “Parliament of Religions on the Prairie,” and a Council on Foreign Relations luncheon. Thanks to Vedanta West Communications for sponsoring my attendance.

 

3. Pope Francis meets #NoDAPL Water Protectors

In 2016, I launched a Capstone Project in Interfaith Action at Claremont Lincoln University, which included goals of initiating a public discussion about the United States government in treaty violations against the sovereign Lakota nation, and a potential repeal of the Doctrine of Discovery by the Vatican as an outcome of a proposed Catholic-Native American dialogue to authenticate revelations and negotiate political accord.

45 partner organizations joined together to support the #NoDAPL Water Protectors at Standing Rock, which included a prayer ceremony organized by the United Religions Initiative using water from 162 sources and 7 continents. The topic was trending at more than 1-million daily hits on social media for several months; videos received tens of millions of views and live webcasts were witnessed by hundreds of thousands. Synchronized events around the world were well-attended with extensive media coverage. Such overwhelming demonstration persuaded banks and others to divest billions of dollars from the pipeline construction project, which was slowed and oil delivery delayed by six months.

I helped to mobilize clergy for interfaith action alongside #NoDAPL Water Protectors; religious leaders burned a copy of the Doctrine of Discovery at Standing Rock. Pope Francis met with Stephen Newcomb of the Indigenous Law Institute, and during a forum with native peoples at the Vatican, His Holiness declared that economic activity on indigenous territory requires prior and informed consent.

 

2. The Story of God: “The Chosen One”

My Interfaith Action Capstone Project also advocated media production to promote the legend of the White Buffalo, an indigenous prophecy with implications for all faith traditions and all people. Nineteen generations ago, the Mother of Creation visited the Lakota people and gave them seven sacred practices: the sweat lodge, the vision quest, funeral rites, the sun dance, friendship vows, puberty rites, and the throwing of the ball. She also gave them a pipe for prayer, foretold the ages to come, and promised that a calf that changes colors from white to yellow to red to brown would be born during a time of earth changes as a warning and a sign of encouragement during many troubles. In this generation, at least eight white buffalo were born — three in my hometown (from different genetic lineages), and I was present at the birth of a fourth. I met the keeper of the white buffalo calf pipe, Chief Arvol Looking Horse, at the International Alchemy Conference, World Peace and Prayer Day, and the Parliament of World’s Religions, where he was featured twice as a speaker on the climate emergency and global healing.

 

1. Total Solar Eclipse

The expansive sense of space and time as the sun, moon, and earth spun into alignment was enhanced by the road trip from San Francisco to Salem/Lebanon in Oregon. There was a descent along a ten-million year old volcanic formation into a plain that was underwater as recently as ten-thousand years ago. I admired the bricks-and-mortar of the small towns, usually a main street bookended on each side by national-brand burger stands and car dealers. Four centuries ago, people lived here in caves; three centuries ago, fur traders hunted the wildlife to oblivion; two centuries ago, settlers arrived with wagons crammed with possessions and guns to kill the natives; in the last century, it was turned into a vacationland of health spas and resorts. In this century, the solar eclipse that crossed the United States with a black shadow seems like a dark omen: millions of acres of forest burned across California, Oregon, Wyoming, Montana, and as I traveled on, catastrophic hurricanes flooded Texas, Louisiana, Florida, and the Gulf coast.

We are not prepared for the new normal. The CO2 400ppm threshold is permanently breached with a record high 412ppm in 2017. The last time Earth had comparable levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide was three million years ago, when the global average temperature was 3.6–5.2°F (2–3°C) warmer than today. Sea levels were also higher, by 15–25 meters. In November 2017, parts of the western U.S., northern Canada, northern and western Alaska, western Asia and Far Eastern Russia had above-average temperatures that were +2.0°C (+3.6°F) or greater (exceeding the Paris Agreement targets). Global land surface temperature was 1.10°C (1.98°F) above average. The climate hasn’t been this hot in 125,000 years, when modern humans first appeared.

A new analysis in Nature (International Journal of Science) by climate experts from the Carnegie Institution for Science and Stanford University says that the worst-case global warming predictions are the most accurate. The National Academy of Sciences reports a biological annihilation signaling a mass extinction event that immediately affects human civilization. IIASA (International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis) predicts ten years to severe consequences. The World Economic Forum declared three years left to save the planet. The most recent “Worldwide Threat Assessment of the US Intelligence Community” warns of polar ice melt, sea level rise, frequent extreme weather events, human displacement, large-scale instability and violent atrocities, water wars, and species losses. There is such a thing as being too late.

This can also be a good time. I watched the Great American Eclipse from the totality zone. I set up an orange tent in a private meadow, and for the event, I made a circle out of wood branches, which I decorated with peacock feathers that molted recently from the local bird. I took a bath, then put on my ceremonial clothes, stepped into the circle and did a five item ritual, including flowers and desert sage that I collected and dried. As the moon eclipsed the sun, the sky darkened and air cooled. I chanted and included a short meditation before the totality — no photograph does the moment justice. The sky was purple, like twilight, and the sun was like a garland of diamond beads. The solar rays extended outward into five points, like a star. All the birds were quiet, and nothing moved while I admired the lovely work of the exterior decorator. I could see planets, and maybe a star (Sirius?). When the moon passed totality and the light returned, the donkey at the neighbor’s farm started braying–Eeeyyeeeoooeeeyyeeeooo. The sky brightened, the air warmed, and birds began singing again. I felt joy and peace.

The Case for More Religion Reporters

The American Christian social justice organization Sojourners recently featured political reporters with a religion bent on the podcast Meanwhile … On the God Beat.

In the episode “A Renaissance of Clicks: The Case for More Religion Reporters,”  Sandi Villareal interviewed Emma Green and McCay Coppins of the Atlantic. They discussed challenges and opportunities in the state of religion reporting. There is a lack of religious literacy and abdication of responsibility among journalists, who do not take religion or religious communities seriously, a bad habit and misrepresentation of secularist prejudice.

Religion is a complicated topic, often personal and private. Inserting a religious angle into an established conversation increases audience potential to millions of clicks and builds reader loyalty out of respectful portrayals.

They also promoted the upcoming conference of the Religion News Association, “a small and honorable group.” They announced a new religion editor is joining the Atlantic, which offers more depth than mainstream news sites and more credibility than a blog in its original reporting and argument and analysis from multiple perspectives.

The Atlantic Religion Community Manager

  

Atlantic Media and the Henry A. Luce Initiative on Religion and International Affairs are the architects of a new social media platform for an urgent conversation between academics and policy experts and journalists about religion in public life and religious identity.

“The Atlantic Religion Community Manager” will foster connections and collaboration, and facilitate and moderate the conversation. The Manager will inspire participation with a comprehensive strategy for engagement and elevation to a global presence.

The Manager will cultivate a robust discussion of religion among academic faculty and students, policy institutes and non-governmental organizations, and freelance journalists. The Manager will feature a wide mix of perspectives in dialogue and debate, highlighting the most compelling content and writers. The Manager will also write and edit stories for publication and monitor social media assets and analytics.

The main task of the Manager is to build relationships: network, listen, influence with strong intelligence and a spirit of generosity. This can be accomplished through credible content (news and information, articles and opinions; blogs, podcasts, videos, newsletters), a forum with levels of membership and a code of conduct to minimize risk of trolls and flame wars, and live events and interactions such as Reddit AMA and Twitter chats, webinars, and offline encounter.

The Manager will work across disciplines and programs, with faculty and students in international relations, anthropology and sociology, religious studies, political science, rhetoric and communication, journalism, etc. and act as a bridge between the academy and policy makers and state officials. The conversation will highlight 1) evolving relationships between religion and political actors, 2) the role and impact of new technology in shaping religious practice, civic knowledge, and media literacy, and 3) trends in human development, mobilisation, and social cohesion.

Topics to enhance the public understanding of religion will include: conflict and peace, environment and sustainability, economy and development, governance and politics, law and human rights, education and health, identity and sexuality, social movements, migration, and humanitarianism.

AAR Guidelines for Evaluating Digital Scholarship

The AAR Publishing Task Force proposed Guidelines for Evaluating Digital Scholarship including a Statement on Academic Freedom and Guidelines for Responsible Research Practices. It describes the core elements of digital projects and best practices at all levels of engagement from undergraduate research to doctoral dissertations to professional work for the academy and other audiences.

The framework will aid in development of projects and in the recruitment, retention, and promotion of innovative scholars by setting standards for quality and measuring impacts. Metrics such as page views, downloads, plays, and number of users are not the only evidence of engagement; higher value is given to grants and recognition by other associations, organizations, and networks.

In addition to the typical merits of critical examination and original contribution to an established discourse, digital projects need effective design for coherence, accessibility, and collaboration. A variety of genres are suggested: archive, teaching resources, institutional sites, online communities, blogs, podcasts, games, and apps. Because projects tend to be open-ended and require updates and maintainence, plans for sustainability and preservation are recommended.

SEE ALSO: AAR Committee on the Public Understanding of Religion