Prince Philip, & Many Heavens, One Earth

 

                                       Many Heavens, One Earth Conference -- Windsor Castle, 2009

Prince Philip, husband of Queen Elizabeth II has died at age 99. They were married for 73 years and through the decades he adapted, perhaps somewhat reluctantly, to his role as consort. Philip had his personal passions and causes, along with the multitude of institutions to which he was attached by virtue of his role. Through the years he expressed concern for the future of the planet and hosted a conference at Windsor Castle bringing together religious leaders  Here is my blog from back then. 

This week a couple of the royals have been touring Canada and today will be opening the Royal -- Winter Fair that is -- in that hub of agriculture, downtown Toronto. Don't get me wrong, I think the Royal is wonderful.

Meanwhile, back at the ranch -- Windsor Castle -- Prince Philip was hosting a significant conference of religious leaders who are concerned about the fate of the planet. Representatives from nine religions gathered in anticipation of December's U.N. conference on Climate Change. This event called Many Heavens, One Earth is part of a larger initiative, the Alliance of Religions and Conservation, which encourages followers of various faiths to "live with respect in Creation" to use a phrase from our United Church statement of faith.

The General Secretary of the United Nations was one of the speakers and he noted that the religions of the world can have a huge role in educating their constituents about practical care for their planet home.

It's encouraging to hear that religious leaders, with all their differences, can come together for the common purpose in caring for creation. We may disagree on heaven, but we share this earth. 

Below is a portion of the description of the conference released in October of 2009.

The celebration – a summit of religious and secular leaders – will launch dozens of long-term commitments by all the major faith traditions. These commitments cover for example: all Daoist Temples in China solar powered; creating faith-based eco-labelling systems in Islam, Hinduism and Judaism; greening all types of religious buildings; protecting sacred forests; developing ethical investment policies; printing sacred books on environmentally-friendly paper; creating educational programmes through the faiths' major role in both formal and informal education.