Parliament of Worlds Religion 2004 Barcelona

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

Page 117

Program Descriptions Thursday, July 8, 2004
ENGAGEMENT SESSION 3:00 PM - 4:30 PM
to the offended groups. The model developed by the Arizona Interfaith movement offers methods for proactively creating a positive force by engaging media, government, educational institutions, businesses and the religious community. You can learn to foster spiritual understanding and respect through education, dialogue, service and community-building. This seminar can help teach you how to move your community and our world from religious intolerance and violence to compassion, reconciliation and peace.
Dr. Paul Eppinger, an American Baptist minister, has served as Statewide Director of the campaign to establish a Martin Luther King holiday for Arizona, the Executive Director of the Arizona Ecumenical Council and is now the Executive Director of the Arizona Interfaith Movement.
Guru Dev Kaur Khalsa grew up in the Sikh community in Phoenix, Arizona. She attended school in India for eight years, and received her Master's Degree in Architecture from Tulane University in 2001 and Yale University in 2004.
Rev. Kyra Baehr is a Unity minister and board representative for Arizona Interfaith Movement. Her experiences in Houston, Texas and Phoenix, Arizona as Unity minister, non-profit executive and human resources manager have all reflected her leadership in bridging cultural and religious differences to create community based on love, compassion and understanding.
Mr. N.V. Shamasundar has been a professional electrical engineer working for the City of Phoenix, Arizona since 1984. He received his Bachelor of Engineering (Electrical) Degree in 1964 (India) and his Master's Degree in International Management in 1984 (USA). He is a Member/Director of Arizona Interfaith Movement.
Dr. Priscilla Eppinger is Assistant Professor of Religion at Graceland University in lowa, USA. Her particular areas of interest are the appropriation of religion by popular culture and feminist and other liberation theologies. She previously served as a pastor in the American Baptist tradition.
Sybil C. Eppinger, B.A., M.A. was a Marriage and Family Therapist for 27 years and co-host of a television series on family issues for 10 years. She is the President of Church Women United, and a Board Member of the Phoenix Interfaith Chaplaincy and a professional organization. She co-authored a book on marriage, and was named Arizona Mother-of-the-Year for 2002.
Sardarni Sahiba Gurukirn Kaur Khalsa has been a Sikh since 1971. She received her introduction to Sikhism from Yogi Bhajan while attending Pomona College in Claremont, CA. She is an ordained Sikh Minister, President of Sikh Dharma of Phoenix, Chairperson of the International Khalsa Council, and an Arizona Interfaith Movement board member.
Interreligious Partnerships in Crisis Relief - An Innovative Strategy for Cooperation, Empowerment and Sustainability
Rev. Dr. Ray Buchanan
Room 122, English/Spanish Lecture
Strategic interreligious partnering in humanitarian crisis response efforts is proving to be an efficient platform for direct
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emergency relief. Establishing intentional partnerships between interreligious faith-based NGOs is also an effective methodology for enhancing local capacity and program sustainability. These partnerships not only foster mutual understanding, they broaden the sense of community among participating organizations. This program demonstrates the power of commitment and the enhanced ability for service when faith groups work together regardless of tradition.
Rev. Dr. Ray Buchanan has devoted his life to a vision of a world without hunger. For the past 25 years he has worked to provide food and emergency aid in crisis areas around the globe. He is currently President and CEO of Stop Hunger Now, an international hunger relief organization located in Raleigh, North Carolina that specializes in fast response and partnering with other faith-based organizations. He is an award-winning photographer whose exhibit, Faces of Hunger / Faces of Hope, can be seen in the Parliament's Art Gallery.
Dealing with Anger Compassionately Hema Pokharna
Mandakini Pokharna
Room 123, English/Spanish Interactive Workshop
Anger is an alarm indicating that our needs are not being met, we are being hurt or our boundaries are being violated. Being discouraged from the awareness and forthright expression of anger, we accumulate suppressed anger, possibly causing physical health problems like blood pressure. In this workshop we will discuss the source of anger, increase our awareness of anger and learn ways of expressing our needs and feelings behind anger. Using meditation, focusing, and nonviolent communication skills, we will learn to express anger compassionately without feelings of guilt or blame.
Hema Pokharna, Ph.D., is a researcher at the University of Chicago. and a member of the JAINA Interfaith Committee. She is the Director of Journeys of Life, and gives extended training sessions and lectures around the world. Her work provides powerful and practical training in connecting with self and others.
Mandakini Pokharna, MD, practices internal medicine in Chicago, and has been trained at the center of Nonviolent Communication. Like Hema, Manda came to the United States from India. She has helped to create and teach inspiring and lively workshops around the world, introducing the audience to the basic skills and concepts of nonviolent communication.
Sustainable Development Poverty, Social Development, Globalization and Social Values Swami Sivarama
Room 124, English
Vedas, social, economic and cultural considerations must follow the essential laws of God in order to be sustainable. These essential laws work according to their nature. These three laws must facilitate a global economic development, which is subservient to the ultimate right of all beings...to know