The University of Southern California and the Southern California Committee for the Parliament of the World’s Religions will host a Pre-Parliament Event titled “Gandhi Remixed: Pluralism and Nonviolence in Today’s World” this upcoming Sunday, October 11th.  The event will celebrate Gandhi’s 140th birthday with refreshments and a free concert.  To learn more, click here.

One of our program interns, Shannon, gives us a quick rundown of last Tuesday’s Downtown Luncheon event in Chicago:

This past Tuesday, September 29, the Parliament of Religions hosted a luncheon entitled “A Pure Body, a Purer Soul.” The panel featured three speakers each discussing fasting in their personal faiths; Rabbi Yehiel Poupko of the Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Chicago spoke about Judaism, Professor Inamul Haq from Elmhurst University discussed Islam and Rajul Bhalala from the Chinmaya Mission shared her experiences of Hindu fasting. Each faith had recently finished a communal fasting time: Yom Kippur for Jews, Ramadan for Muslims and Navaratri for Hindus. The session was moderated by Sister Joan McGuire of the Archdiocese of Chicago, who also shared the Catholic perspective on fasting during the question and answer portion of the event. We will continue to hold such events as part of our regular Downtown Luncheon Series, so keep your eyes open!

We’ve received some wonderful photos from Pre-Parliament Events recently held in Vancouver and Monterrey.

To see pictures from Vancouver, click here.

To see pictures from Monterrey, click here.

Many of our other Pre-Parliament Events have been documented with photos, video and more.  To see a list of past Pre-Parliament Events, click here. If you want to find out what events will be happening in the future near you, click here.

On Thursday, October 1st, two cities on opposite sides of the world will both host a Pre-Parliament Event.

In Sydney, Australia, ten organisations and communities will be hosting their event “Seeking Social Cohesion — Sharing Our Wisdom.” The event, which is subtitled “Social Networking Beyond Facebook” will give youth of different faith traditions an opportunity to meet and interact and will also feature a variety of speakers including Irene Beaumaris.  For more information, click here.

Over an ocean away, St. Edward’s University Austin will be hosting their own Pre-Parliament event titled “A Gathering of Faiths.” A series of booths and displays throughout the campus will celebrate different religious traditions and the event will also include several panel discussions including one on the theme of the Nostra Aetate.  For more information, click here.

The Thomas Aquinas Center for Philosophical Studies will host a Pre-Parliament Event titled “Unidos por la Paz y la Ecología” (United by Peace and Ecology) this upcoming Tuesday and Wednesday, September 29th and 30th. The event will promote the Melbourne Parliament and will address environmental concerns while introducing visitors to the varied religious communities of León.  For more information, click here.

The Inter-religious Organization of Trinidad and Tobago has organized a Pre-Parliament Event to take place this Sunday, September 27th in the city of Port of Spain. The event will be held in celebration of the National Day of Prayer and Thanksgiving and will feature readings, song, meditation and more.  For information, click here.

To see a flyer for this event, click here.

The Interfaith Dialogue Association Religious Forum, the Union for Christian Culture and Islamic Heritage House have organized a Pre-Parliament event to take place this Saturday, September 26th in Helsinki, Finland. The event will take place at Caisa, Mikonkatu 17 C /Vuorikatu 14. This free, three-hour seminar will explore a variety of questions touching on religion and society. For more information, click here.

Peace of the World International, in partnership with Youth In Action, the Grace Foundation and the Seventh Day Adventist Church, will be hosting a Pre-Parliament event in the city of Blantyre, Malawi.  During the event a variety of organizations and individuals of goodwill shall come together to address local and global issues and establish an Inter-Religious Council.  For more information on this event, click here.

A long time ago in August 2008 the Parliament of Religions must have seemed a distant event. That didn’t stop the School of Bhagavad Gita from hosting a Pre-Parliament Event in Kerala, India.  A variety of speakers came together to discuss “Religion, Gandhiji, Politics and Aesthetics.”

To see photos taken at this event, click here.

To read a letter about the event from the President of India, click here.

For more information on the Kerala Pre-Parliament Event, click here.

Abrahamic Reunion, a project of Jerusalem Peacemakers, will be hosting a Pre-Parliament Event tomorrow, September 17th “to honor the Muslim community of the Holy Land during their sacred month of Ramadan.” This interreligious event will take place from 6 – 10 PM and will be hosted by Greek Melkite Deacon Jiries Mansour. For more information, click here.