Parliament of Worlds Religion 1999 Capetown SA

Author(s): Parliament of the World’s Religions
Publisher: USA Parliament of the Worlds Religions

Page 6

A CALL TO OUR GUIDING INSTITUTIONS
1999
propose a process of creative engagement that will involve not only the religions of the world but all other guiding institutions as well.
The Council's hope is that the Call will provide encouragement and direction for those wishing to offer gifts of service to the world. Such gifts express a fundamental spiritual inclination toward good will, generosity, hospitality, compassion, righteousness, and justice. Indeed, the existence of goodness in the world has often been directly related to the spirit in which such gifts are given. Though ambitious endeavors and noble projects have made undeniable contributions, the world needs and continues to thirst for such individual and collective gifts of service-now, more than ever.
The Nature of the Call
A Call to Our Guiding Institutions is not a prescriptive or admonitory document. It is instead an appeal for active, ongoing dialogue about the creation of a just, peaceful, and sustainable future on behalf of the entire Earth community. For this reason, the Call consists of specific, particular invitations rather than sweeping declarations or hectoring injunctions.
DECEMBER
Furthermore, the authority of the Call will come only in small measure from its endorsement by religious and spiritual leaders. Its strength flows primarily from its expression of beliefs and convictions already deeply held-and held in common-by the world's religious and spiritual communities, and from the collaborations each part of the Call may inspire.
In the pages that follow, key excerpts from the document Towards a Global Ethic: An Initial Declaration appear in the margins of the various sections. These serve as reminders that the Global Ethic sets the stage for the Call and informs its core.
All are invited to reflect on this document and to respond in ways that will move our world toward a just, peaceful, and sustainable future.
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