First United Nations ‘Spiritual Summit’ Planned

1,000 of world’s spiritual leaders to meet in August 2000

A “spiritual summit” bringing together 1,000 of the world’s religious and spiritual leaders is being organized by the United Nations next August-the first such gathering in the UN’s 54-year history. The Millennium World Peace Summit, as the gathering is known, will take place from August 28 to 31, 2000 just days before the world’s political leaders gather for the UN Millennium Heads of State Summit.

“Our dream is to get the pre-eminent religious leaders to the UN so they can support the peace process, in concert with the political bodies there,” Bawa Jain, the executive co-ordinator of the world peace summit, said today 3 December in Cape Town.

“I definitely feel that the religious and spiritual communities can play a substantial role in easing tensions in the world zones of conflict,” he added.

UN secretary-general Kofi Annan will give the welcoming address at the religious summit.

“Ultimately, this first-ever council of senior religious and spiritual advisers will be established as a resource to the UN secretary-general, and its members could be ‘parachuted’ into trouble spots,” Jain said.

Jain was speaking at a media briefing held during the 1999 Parliament of World Religions, which opened in Cape Town on 1 December. Much of the work and discussions of the 10-day parliament will be channeled into next August’s gathering of religious leaders.

Almost 6,000 international and local spiritual leaders, theologians and believers from the world’s major religions are attending the parliament, which includes a wide range of talks, symposia, plenary sessions, workshops, worship and meditation.

Western secular clothes and clerical garb were juxtaposed at the opening ceremony with flowing saffron robes, red cassocks and orange Buddhist robes, blue turbans and white scarves.

“The parliament is grounded in the certainty that without the insight, energy, inspiration and goodwill of the world’s religions and spiritual communities, there can be no real answers to the daunting problems we all face at the beginning of a new century,” a welcoming document said.

Only a small group of Muslim extremists protested against the PWR on the opening day. They asked why “Satanists” were gathered in Cape Town, accused the parliament of being a “Zionist conspiracy” and claimed that “Islam is the only way of life.”

However, the leaders of all of Cape Town’s faith communities support the gathering which is taking place on the campus of the Cape Technikon tertiary institution, at the foot of the world-famous Table Mountain, and at various venues in the city center and suburbs.

For those who are overwhelmed by the marketplace of possibilities vying for their attention, a relaxing transcendental meditation workshop is available on the green grass of the Technikon open-air amphitheater. Standing under the hot African sun or in the shade of the trees, they listen to the soothing voice of a guru and shake off all the tensions and the information overload.

Copyright © 1999 Ecumenical News International. Used with permission.

Related Elsewhere:

See today’s related Parliament of the World’s Religions story, “Help Us Develop Our Souls, Mandela Tells World Religious Leaders | Former South Africa president awarded by Parliament of the World’s Religions”

The Parliament of the World’s Religions South Africa site has a program of the meeting and daily highlights.

Also in this issue

Where Would Civilization Be Without Christianity? Over the past 2,000 years, the gospel has transformed countless lives. Likewise, Christian ideas have shaped cultures. At this turn of the millennium, what contributions to civilization should we celebrate?

Cover Story

Where Would Civilization Be Without Christianity? The Gift of Mission

Cover Story

Where Would Civilization Be Without Christianity? The Gift of Humility

Cover Story

Where Would Civilization Be Without Christianity? The Gift of Literacy

Cover Story

Where Would Civilization Be Without Christianity? The Gift of Science

Cover Story

Where Would Civilization Be Without Christianity? The Gift of Dignity

Elegy for a Jesus Freak

Reflections on Christmas

No Room in the Womb?

Why We Still Need Moody

Fatherhood on the Rebound

Meditations: Drive-Through Christmas

Cassie Said Yes, They Say No

Dispatch From Sierra Leone: Suckled on Gunpowder

Is Christmas Pagan?

The Abortion Debate Is Over

Redeeming Fire

Making Room for God

Ending Hunger in Our Lifetime

New & Noteworthy: Church History

Doctor’s Orders

Ban May Go to Supreme Court

Marketing Martyrdom to Teens

JESUS Film Debuts on DVD

In Brief: December 06, 1999

Feed the Children Battles Controversy

Court Upholds Video Poker Ban

Violence Mars Bonnke's Revival

Arrested Christians Face Deportation

In Brief: December 06, 1999

Hindus Protest Papal Visit

Wire Story

Plans for Meeting Between Baptist Jewish Heads Called Off

Wire Story

Homosexuality: Falwell Tames His Tongue

Wire Story

Christians Protest Proposed Mosque

Moscow Meeting Eases Russia's Interchurch Tensions

The Grove Press Bible

Positive About Potter

Lord's Prayer a Musical Hit in United Kingdom

Jailed Sudanese Priests Reject presidential Amnesty

Two Major Philippine Churches Sign Agreement for Closer Links

Leading German Bishop Says Church Will Bow to Rome in Abortion Controversy

Tashkent Christian Threatened with Two-Year Prison Term

New Delhi Center Dedicated to Princess Di's Wish to End 'Stigma' of Leprosy

Homosexual Group Institutes Award for Straight Religious Leaders

Amassed Media: Evolution Wars

Wire Story

Ministries Intensify As East Timorese Refugee Camps Grow

Jerusalem's Church Leaders Usher in Millennium Celebrations

Help Us Develop Our Souls Mandela Tells World Religious Leaders

Australian Church Agrees to Run Controversial Room for Injecting Drugs

Leading Catholic Theologian Outlines His Vision of Next Pope

Campbell Remains Optimistic As She Looks to Life After the NCC

Amassed Media: God Bless America's Candidates

One Denomination at Its Best and Worst

Letters

Ned Graham’s Woes Shake East Gates

Texas Southern Baptists: Submission Rejected

Brazil: Scholars Debate Mission Methods

Alabama: An Education Gamble

Buddhism: Spirituality Without Religion

Editorial

More of the Same

View issue

Our Latest

Inside the Ministry

The Next Generation Is Ready. Are We?

See how CT is investing in the next generation of the Church—and how you can, too.

The CDC Listened to Vaccine-Hesitant Moms in My Living Room

I was surprised to find myself hosting an off-the-record chat with people worlds apart on public health. But I hope that night was a seed of something new.

The Russell Moore Show

Listener question: Why Aren’t Christians Engaging in Humanitarian Aid?

Russell takes a listener’s question about the crisis of humanitarian aid and why Christians are not stepping in to help.

New Archbishop of Canterbury Steps into Anglican Divides

Conservatives call on Sarah Mullally, the first woman at the spiritual helm of the Church of England, to uphold biblical faith amid same-sex blessings debate.

News

FDA Approves Generic Abortion Pill

Students for Life leader calls the move “a stain on the Trump presidency.”

You Haven’t Heard Worship Music like This

John Van Deusen’s praise is hard-won and occasionally wordless.

The Russell Moore Show

BONUS: Lecrae on Reconstruction after Disillusionment

 Lecrae joins Russell Moore to take questions from Christianity Today subscribers

Apple PodcastsDown ArrowDown ArrowDown Arrowarrow_left_altLeft ArrowLeft ArrowRight ArrowRight ArrowRight Arrowarrow_up_altUp ArrowUp ArrowAvailable at Amazoncaret-downCloseCloseEmailEmailExpandExpandExternalExternalFacebookfacebook-squareGiftGiftGooglegoogleGoogle KeephamburgerInstagraminstagram-squareLinkLinklinkedin-squareListenListenListenChristianity TodayCT Creative Studio Logologo_orgMegaphoneMenuMenupausePinterestPlayPlayPocketPodcastRSSRSSSaveSaveSaveSearchSearchsearchSpotifyStitcherTelegramTable of ContentsTable of Contentstwitter-squareWhatsAppXYouTubeYouTube