CCIU Seeks Board Members
The Connecticut Council for Interreligious Understanding (CCIU) is recruiting Unitarian Universalists to serve on its Board. UU’s, from the Hartford, Manchester, and West Hartford congregations, have served on the CCIU Board continuously since the organization was founded nearly 30 years ago. I would like to continue the tradition because the CCIU mission is important and is so consistent with UU principles. Currently, I am the only UU CCIU Board member. Ideally, we would have at least 3 UU Board members.
CCIU celebrates increasing religious diversity and promotes interfaith dialogue and understanding to achieve mutual respect, peace, and justice. CCIU’s principal focus is educating people about the world's religions, the values they share, and their differences and how they have contributed to our respective world views.
CCIU believes each of the world's religions, as well as thoughtful and caring non-believers, espouse peace, understanding, compassion, love, and human dignity and that we should engage with open minds and hearts in the process of learning about all religions to advance respect and inter-group peace.
CCIU was incorporated in 1995 by 5 founding Board members, including the late Rev. Connie Sternberg from UUSE. CCIU has representatives from 9 religions: the Baha'i Faith, Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Islam, Jainism, Judaism, Sikhism, and Unitarian Universalism.
I have been a member of UUSE for about 15 years, have served on the CCIU Board for more than 10 years, and currently serve as the treasurer. I participate in CCIU because it promotes my search for truth and meaning, it provides an opportunity to share my perspectives, it encourages spiritual growth for people of all faiths, and it promotes human dignity that transcends our religious identities. I am dedicated to interreligious dialogue because it promotes justice, equity, and compassion and brings us closer to a peaceful world community. People should not face discrimination or marginalization because of their religions. I believe that people of all religious identities should be treated with respect.
CCIU has ongoing initiatives to promote interreligious understanding. From 2015 to 2019, CCIU had 40 Honest Conversations with your Muslim Neighbors sessions that more than 3000 people attended. From 2019 to 2023, CCIU has had more than 20 To Love Your Neighbor, Know Your Neighbor panel discussions that brings together representatives of several different religions in a moderated panel discussion about their faiths. Since 2020, CCIU has organized events focused on racial justice, including a 9 session weekly overcoming racism workshop and an interfaith civil rights bus tour in Georgia and Alabama. For more information, go to the CCIU website: https://ccfiu.org/.
The Board is responsible for ensuring that the CCIU mission of promoting interreligious understanding throughout the Greater Hartford community is fulfilled by providing resources, capabilities, time, energy, leadership, and oversight necessary to carry out all CCIU activities. Board members must be committed to carrying out the responsibilities of effective governance. Board members must actively promote interreligious understanding in their own religious communities and throughout the wider community.
If you are interested, please contact Greg Dupuis or contact the office.