After the URI Europe Assembly that was held in Lienz, Austria, Sabine Oblasser published an article on the Mein Bezirk webiste.
This article is translated by URI Europe Coordinator Karimah Stauch.
The participants at the European meeting in the Franciscan monastery of St. Mary in Lienz.
Lienz declared the best place in Europe to discuss the pursuit of " Heaven on Earth" through peace, justice and healing.
LIENZ. Lienz is the "best city" in Europe to talk about the common work on "Heaven on Earth - through peace, justice and healing". This was the conclusion drawn by 60 participants of the European Gathering of the local groups of the United Religions Initiative URI. Men and women of different ages from 18 countries, including representatives from the USA and India, gathered for three days in the Franciscan monastery in Lienz to discuss this important goal.
25 years of "The Little Owl“
On 29 September, the music of the Gaimberg brass band, the Lienz Singers' Association and the Weger family music from Oberlienz was particularly inspiring. They framed an evening that at the same time served as a celebration of the 25th anniversary of the campaign "The Little Owl - a story goes on a world tour". This initiative began in the former municipal library in the Franciscan monastery and now reaches readers in 173 countries with 45 different languages, including Syria.
In this context, generous donors were invited who made this project possible and thus helped 676 war and earthquake victims. The successful project of the East Tyrolean association "Education brings peace" is under the auspices of the worldwide United Religions Initiative. URI was founded 23 years ago and is thus supported by more than 1200 similar groups in 120 countries. Their common goal is to build a more peaceful, just and healed world.
Award for ORF
On this evening, ORF's long-standing work in the field of religion was also honored by a certificate presented to the head of the department, Mag. Barbara Krenn. Education forms the basis for peace and mutual understanding between the different faith traditions.
·Mag. Barbara Krenn, Head of the Religion Department at ORF, was honored with a certificate.
Symbolic act for healing the world
On October 1, the "Bell for Peace and Friendship" at Hochstein was visited and rung with prayers. Afterward, a tree was planted at the war cemetery near the parish church, a symbolic step towards healing old wounds on the continent.
The participants visited the "Bell for Peace and Friendship" at Hochstein.
A tree was planted at the war cemetery near the parish church of St. Andrä
The participants were excellently catered for by generous food donations from local producers. This saved costs, which in turn can be used to feed starving refugees in Syria.
All participants were delighted by the warm hospitality in the Franciscan monastery and the parish of St. Andrä. After many constructive discussions and the exchange of successful ideas for practical interreligious work in East Tyrol, the last guests left Lienz on October 6. With wonderful memories of the picturesque landscape of East Tyrol in their luggage, many promised to plan their next vacation here and look forward to further cooperation. Because Lienz is undoubtedly the ideal place to talk about a "better world".
