Christian, Jewish, and Muslim clergy and seminary students will convene around a shared vision of environmental stewardship at the Faith and Ecology Conference in Jerusalem on Wednesday, 28 Tishrei. Organizers explain that “Current and emerging faith leaders and teachers can serve as a unique and powerful vehicle to influence society to address environmental challenges. In the Holy Land, members of the three Abrahamic traditions all share the importance of being stewards of Creation. The conference will instruct over 100 seminary students and clergy on integration of environmental education into faith-based teachings”.

This Conference is part of the United Planet Faith and Science Initiative, which brings figures in faith and science together to educate for ecological sustainability. It is part of a series of events in late 2014 on three continents– in Peru, New York, and Jerusalem. The events coincide with UN climate talks and aim to generate tractable environmental change within faith-based communities.

Participants will take part in a panel presentation by local religious leaders and scientists such as Bishop William Shomali (Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem), Rabbi Yuval Cherlow (Rosh Yeshiva, Yeshivat Hesder Petach Tikva) and Dr. Nurit Hashimony Yaffe (Academic College of Tel Aviv Yaffo); interactive workshops, an outdoor session, and a video session featuring senior religious leaders like the Dalai Lama and Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks.

The event is being hosted in the Mishkenos Sha’ananim Conference Center, Yemin Moshe neighborhood, Jerusalem. The Conference is being co-organized by the Konrad Adenauer Foundation and the Interfaith Center for Sustainable Development, and involves the participation of students from the Salesian Pontifical University and other institutions.

(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)