SDGs

Earth Day 2021

“We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them.” Albert Einstein Happy Earth Day! You and I live somewhere. Faithful presence invites us to discover a way of living in harmony with all of life… people, animals, ourselves, and the earth. The acceleration

Dwight J. Friesen April 22, 2021September 26, 2022

Sanctity of Life & Dignity of All

Declaring The Sanctity Of Life & The Dignity Of All We come together as senior religious leaders, academics, and lay leaders from around the world to affirm the sanctity of life and dignity of all. We affirm that all human

Dwight J. Friesen March 17, 2021December 19, 2022

March is Women’s History Month

March is Women’s History Month. Women’s History Month is an annual declared month set aside to highlight the contributions of women to events in history and contemporary society. What we now know as the month long observation in the USA, began

Dwight J. Friesen March 1, 2021September 26, 2022

Today! “Interfaith Perspectives on Loving Our Neighbors”

Today The Parliament of the World’s Religions is joining organizers and community leaders in Chicago as part of the City’s Together We Heal initiative by hosting a series of virtual programs to foster conversation and share tools on healing and

Dwight J. Friesen February 23, 2021September 26, 2022

Sustainable Bellevue

Here is the City of Bellevue’s recently approved (December 14th, 2020) plan for learning to live in relationship with creation. I wish it had a more clearly linked connection to the UN’s 17’s “Sustainable Development Goals” especially given the relative

Dwight J. Friesen January 1, 2021November 2, 2022

Thriving Cities

This 10 minute video put together by the Thriving Communities Group is a beautiful introduction to our vital need for a renewed Shalomic imagination for faithful presence within the ecosystem of relations that sustain life. The video is really good!

Dwight J. Friesen December 2, 2020September 26, 2022

The Value of Sustainable Urbanization

UN-Habitat released its World Cities Report 2020 at the end of October. These reports inform the vital work of the Urban Shalom Society in our ecumenical and multi-faith collaboration toward activating our cities to plan for a more sustainable future

Dwight J. Friesen November 11, 2020September 26, 2022

Micah Global: Asia Regional Consultation

I participated in my first Micah Global in the Fall of 2018. Practitioners and thought leaders from all over the world with strong emphasis on majority world leaders gathered in the Philippines. Micah Global describes itself as a global Christian

Dwight J. Friesen October 16, 2020September 26, 2022

10 Personal Parish Practices & Postures During 2020

In this pandemic era many of us find ourselves walking our neighborhoods more than ever. Many are also experiencing limitations in terms of gathering together with others. So doing things with your group or your church may not be available.

Dwight J. Friesen October 12, 2020November 2, 2022

Report on UN-Habitat “World Urban Forum 10”

Back in February of 2020, just before COVID-19 re-ordered life as we’ve known it, myself and a crew of international, multi-faith urban thinkers and place practitioners gathered in Abu Dhabi to participate the United Nations, Habitat’s tenth convening of the

Dwight J. Friesen September 30, 2020November 2, 2022

Faith(s) for the Environment – Call to Action

The ongoing collaboration between the Parliament of World Religions together with the UN-Environment Programme, has set forth a “Faith for Earth: A Call for Action.” This beautifully compiled document describes the essential, unshakeable reverence that all religions have for creation

Dwight J. Friesen September 2, 2020September 28, 2022

Loving Your Neighbor(hood) – Webinar

This online event brings two communities of Christians together, pastors and professional placemakers–that is architects, urban designers, planners, and developers–for a learning exchange. The purpose is to equip the church to better love and serve people by helping to design,

Dwight J. Friesen June 8, 2020September 26, 2022

COVID-19 Teaching us about Traffic?

Really helpful article by Joe Cartright who runs the think tank and blog City Observatory. Cartright’s article is posted on Strong Towns, its called: What COVID-19 Teaches Us About How to Fix Highways, by Joe Cartright The Small Towns‘ podcast

Dwight J. Friesen May 20, 2020September 26, 2022

Neighborhood Soul Mapping

My friend, Dan Jacobs introduced me to this cool use of Google Maps to help celebrate the character of Seattle’s South Lake Union neighborhood.

Dwight J. Friesen May 20, 2020September 26, 2022

You are Here!

You are here! Actually your are there; I am here. This is amazing! This is real. Like no time in modern history – or least not since the inventions of the steam ship, the locative, the automobile, and the airplane

Dwight J. Friesen May 5, 2020September 26, 2022

Place as Teacher

Here’s a little video The Seattle School put together, briefly talking about how our bodies placed in the real world is the primary means through which we discover what is real. Enjoy. Peace, dwight

Dwight J. Friesen May 4, 2020September 26, 2022

Urban Shalom Forum @ WUF-10

During the World Urban Forum 10 in Abu Dhabi urban thinkers and practitioners from around the world and from a number faith traditions gathered at the invitation of the Urban Shalom Society. These gatherings serve multiple purposes it seems to

Dwight J. Friesen February 18, 2020September 26, 2022

Congress for New Urbanism

My friend Chris Elisara invited to join him at the Congress for New Urbanism (CNU), when its conference was here in Seattle a few weeks back. I’ve posted just two of the amazing talks from the event. One of the

Dwight J. Friesen May 16, 2017September 26, 2022

The Womxn’s March on Seattle

Wow! What a Day! I have never loved felt more proud of my city than I do today. The Womxn’s March on Seattle was truly beautiful. Lynette and I carpooled with some neighbors, we had a blast… if that’s the right

Dwight J. Friesen January 21, 2017September 26, 2022

5 Signs of the New Parish

Here is a conversation from the latest Inhabit Conference in which Paul Sparks, Tim Soerens and I share the emerging Five Signs of new parish churches and leadership. As always visit Parish Collective for more info on these vital themes.

Dwight J. Friesen June 4, 2016September 26, 2022

United Nations Sustainable Development Goals

A few months ago – September 25, 2015 to be exact – the 193 countries of the UN General Assembly adopted the 2030 Development Agenda titled “Transforming Our World: the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.” I can only imagine the

Dwight J. Friesen February 2, 2016February 26, 2024

MESA gathering

Recently I had the opportunity to be a part of an international gathering of Emergent minded followers of Christ from Thailand, Malaysia, Hong Kong, Uganda, Democratic Republic of Congo, South Africa, Brazil, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Argentina, Mexico, Australia, New

Dwight J. Friesen October 31, 2013September 26, 2022