Global

Global Community

The CUC and UCV visions of interdependence call for us to work with a broad range of organizations in the service of shared values. Work with other faith groups, environmental movements, and indigenous rights groups are prominent in these interdependencies. These include:

International Council of Unitarians and Universalists (ICUU)

  • The mission of the ICUU is to empower existing and emerging member groups to sustain and grow our global faith community. (See excerpt from the ICUU Constitution below.)

Canada has long had members on the board of CUC. Currently, Mich Michell from Calgary is the Treasurer and Rev Brian Kiely from Edmonton and Rev Diane Rollert from Montreal are this years’ voting delegates. The ICCU is scheduled to meet face to face in Kathmandu, Nepal, 12-15 Feb 2018. Currently, about 70 participants are registered. (There were about 140 participants at the 2016 meeting in the Netherlands.) If you’d like to sponsor someone from an emerging UU group in another country to attend the Kathmandu meeting, or if you’d like to attend yourself, please get in touch with me! keith@cuc.ca

UU-UNO – Unitarian Universalist United Nations Office

There are many resources and opportunities listed at this site, including many Canadian opportunities. For example, dedicated volunteers with an interest in the UN can become “Envoys” to help advance UN causes.

Parliament of the World’s Religions –

Meeting in Toronto 1-7 Nov 2018

World Federalist Movement

Founded in 1947, the World Federalist Movement works toward world cooperation beyond the nation state. They lobby in support of improvements to UN structures, but recognizing the slowness of many UN processes and the limitations that nation statehood implies (e.g. the veto by major powers at the UN Security Council), they often prefer to work with non-governmental organizations (NGOs) to achieve positive global outcomes.

*Excerpt from the ICUU Constitution:
PREAMBLE
The Executive Committee sees that The mission of the ICUU is to:
1. foster communication, relationships and understanding within the international U*U community;
2. build networks and partnerships among member groups, their congregations, leaders and institutions;
3. identify and nurture emerging groups around the world; for mutual inspiration, development and growth.
We, the member groups of the International Council of Unitarians and Universalists, affirming our belief in religious community based on:
 Liberty of conscience and individual thought in matters of faith
 The inherent worth and dignity of every person
 Justice and compassion in human relations
 Responsible stewardship of the earth’s living system
 And our commitment to democratic principles
declare our purposes to be:
 To serve the Infinite Spirit of Life and the human community by strengthening the worldwide Unitarian and Universalist faith
 To affirm the variety and richness of our living traditions
 To facilitate mutual support among member organizations
 To promote our ideals and principles around the world
 To provide models of liberal religious response to the human condition which uphold our common values.