| A Cooperation Circle
of United Religions Initiative (URI), Spiritual
Alliance for Earth (SAFE) is an inter-religious
network
of individuals and organizations who share a common
cause of caring for creation. Through letter writing
campaigns, educational events, and annual Earth
Day celebrations, SAFE seeks to build bridges between
diverse spiritual traditions and communities, raise
awareness about environmental issues, and support
environmental activism. Representing a wide variety
of religious traditions, SAFE participants include
Buddhists, Christians, Jews, Muslims, Native Americans,
and Pagans. |
| Inter-religious: Indigenous Tradition |
United States of America
(San Francisco Bay Area, California) |
| None Listed |
| SAFE grew out of an initiative by Cindy Spring,
the coordinator of the 2000 Bay Area Earth Day,
to bring a spiritual dimension to Earth Day. With
Jim Conlon and Bill Sadler of Holy Names College,
Paul Burks and Lauren DeBoer of EarthLight
Magazine, and others, an inter-religious group sponsored
an Earth Day celebration that represented twelve
different spiritual traditions. Afterwards, the
planners of the event decided to form an on-going
group dedicated to making connections between spirituality
and ecology. Sadler gathered a dozen founders to
become a Cooperation Circle of United Religions
Initiative (URI) in the Fall of 2000. SAFE was
then organized as a nonprofit organization under
URI and was successful in receiving grants from
several small foundations. SAFE developed a schedule
of events and a business plan and began to sponsor
inter-religious environmental celebrations and
educational events. In 2001, SAFE celebrated Earth
Day by organizing a multicultural Environmental
Fair with thirty sponsors and an inter-religious
liturgy at Grace Cathedral. This event attracted
over 1,300 people. In 2002, SAFE held its third
annual Earth Day celebration at the Unitarian Universalist
Church of Berkeley and organized an educational
program entitled “EARTH: Commodity or Community” at
Holy Names College in Oakland. SAFE’s fourth
Earth Day celebration was held outdoors in PortView
Park in the Port of Oakland in 2003 and included
an Environmental Fair and a dramatic and creative
inter-religious liturgy. |
| Seeking to promote a SAFE future
for the planet and all life, the Alliance helps
to establish communication and cooperation between
environmental groups and faith communities through
advocacy, education, and celebration. Recognizing
the spiritual dimension of environmental activism,
SAFE maintains that caring for creation is central
to what it means to be both fully human and spiritual. |
United Religions Initiative (URI)
Sophia Center
of Holy Names College
EarthLight Magazine
California
Interfaith Power and Light
Interfaith Chapel
at the Presidio
Various
local congregations
and environmental groups
|
| None Listed |
| None Listed |
| None Listed |
Spiritual Alliance for Earth (SAFE)
Bill Sadler, Chair
9377 Skyline Blvd
Oakland, CA 94611
Ph: 510.531.7090
Email: sadler22@pacbell.net |
