FOLLOW US
World Interfaith Harmony Week Celebrated in Tokyo
Written by UPF - Japan
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
Tokyo, Japan - A commemorative event of the United Nations’ annual “World Interfaith Harmony Week” was hosted by UPF-Japan on January 29 in Tokyo as an opening program of an Ambassadors for Peace Council Meeting.
After the moderator’s introductory remarks on the World Interfaith Harmony Week and its significance, Rev. Taishu Nara, a Shinto priest who led the program, blew a stone whistle, which was a ritual for inviting the gods and offered a purification prayer. Then, Mr. Kumar Raiv, a research scholar of the Hindu Cultural Exchange, prayed for peace, and Rev. Nichiko Yoshida and Rev. Jiei Shizuka, who are Buddhist monks, chanted a sutra harmoniously. Rev. Toru Miyahara, a Christian pastor, read verses from the Revelation of the New Testament and offered a prayer for welcoming the Lord at the Last Days.
Representatives of each religion lit the candles after their prayer, and the program was concluded by a silent prayer by all participants. They all prayed for the realization of religious harmony as well as for a peaceful world.
The Interfaith Harmony program had created a peaceful and brisk atmosphere within the Council Meeting that followed. Mr. Seiichi Kikuya, the Secretary General of UPF-Japan, reported on the activities of UPF-Japan in 2010 and Mr. Masayoshi Kajikuri, Vice-president of the Association of Ambassadors for Peace-Japan, announced the basic guidelines of activities for Ambassadors for Peace in 2011.
Around 50 Ambassadors for Peace participated in the meeting, and many of them said, “It would be a good idea to start the meetings with an interreligious program like we did today as part of the UN-initiated project. Then, we can discuss in a sacred atmosphere, and the deliberations will be peaceful.”
If you find this page helpful and informative please consider making donation. Your donation will help Universal Peace Federation (UPF) provide new and improved reports, analysis and publications to you and everyone around the world.
UPF is a 501(c)(3) tax exempt organization and all donations are tax deductible in the United States. Receipts are automatically provided for donations of or above $250.00.
|
Donate to the Universal Peace Federation: Your donation to support the general programs of UPF. |
Donate to the Religious Youth Service (RYS): Your donation will be used for service projects around the world. |
Donate to UPF's Africa Projects: Your donation will be used for projects in Africa. |
Related Articles
Austria
UPF-Austria Co-Sponsors Interfaith Conference
Vienna, Austria—“[Religious] walls must come down, if we are to aim for a world of peace," the UPF founder once said.
United Kingdom
UPF-UK Visits Hindu Youth Summer Camp
Birmingham, United Kingdom—UPF spoke to around 120 Hindu youths about interfaith and peace activities.
Angola
UPF-Portugal Broadcasts to Angola’s Radio Tocoíst
Lisbon, Portugal—The president of UPF-Portugal, Dr. Sérgio Vieira, spoke to listeners of Radio Tocoíst in Angola.