title: The World Council of Churches in dialogue with Muslims: Retrospect and prospect

authors: Pratt, Douglas

subjects: World Council of Churches

abstract: The World Council of Churches (WCC) has been involved in a variety of inter-religious dialogue projects and initiatives over many years. Dialogue with other religions—or with the peoples of those religions—is of significance and import, not least because of the value placed upon peaceful co-existence and harmonious inter-communal relations. However, of all bi-lateral endeavours, it is arguably the arena of Christian-Muslim relations which has been, and remains, the most challenging, problematic, and pressing for the Christian community at large—and, complementarily, for the Muslim umma also. This article attempts an overview of development in Christian-Muslim dialogue undertaken under the auspices of the WCC since around the mid-twentieth century. Early explorations, when the prospect of dialogue with Muslims was being canvassed, will be discussed. A significant 1972 consultation will be noted, followed by a review of salient features pertaining to the extension of the field of engagement in Christian-Muslim dialogue, and a note on some difficulties and challenges encountered. A comment on a sequence of regional events undertaken during the 80s will precede a discussion of developments in the clarification of issues that took place during the 90s. Finally, issues and challenges that are evident in the opening years of the third millennium of the Common Era will be briefly touched on.

text: The World Council of Churches in dialogue with Muslims: Retrospect and prospect The World Council of Churches (WCC) has been involved in a variety of inter-religious dialogue projects and initiatives over many years. Dialogue with other religions—or with the peoples of those religions—is of significance and import, not least because of the value placed upon peaceful co-existence and harmonious inter-communal relations. However, of all bi-lateral endeavours, it is arguably the arena of Christian-Muslim relations which has been, and remains, the most challenging, problematic, and pressing for the Christian community at large—and, complementarily, for the Muslim umma also. This article attempts an overview of development in Christian-Muslim dialogue undertaken under the auspices of the WCC since around the mid-twentieth century. Early explorations, when the prospect of dialogue with Muslims was being canvassed, will be discussed. A significant 1972 consultation will be noted, followed by a review of salient features pertaining to the extension of the field of engagement in Christian-Muslim dialogue, and a note on some difficulties and challenges encountered. A comment on a sequence of regional events undertaken during the 80s will precede a discussion of developments in the clarification of issues that took place during the 90s. Finally, issues and challenges that are evident in the opening years of the third millennium of the Common Era will be briefly touched on.

year: 2009

title: The potential for an independent source of Younger Dryas tree-ring radiocarbon data from the Lake Ontario region, North America, and its palaeoenvironmental context

authors: Griggs, Carol

abstract: Tree rings are the gold standard for the calibration of radiocarbon dates into calendar years with limited error due to their annual record of radiocarbon content in the atmosphere. Currently, the tree-ring 14C data used in the International Radiocarbon Calibration curve (IntCal13) are from multiple sources back to ~ 10 ka cal BP for the northern hemisphere. However, the source for tree-ring calibration data prior to ~10 ka cal BP, including the Younger Dryas (YD) and most of the Early Holocene (EH) chronozones, is limited to central Europe. Substantial quantities of logs found in the lowlands of Lake Ontario in North America, dating from 12.1 to 11.2 ka cal BP, have great potential for providing unique YD-EH tree-ring 14C data from a new, previously unrepresented, geographic location and for adding a new perspective to ongoing debates such as the timing of the YD/EH transition in continental North America. Preliminary fieldwork yielded over 43 logs, predominantly spruce (Picea spp.), found buried in alluvial strata over 0.2 hectares of the floodplain at Bell Creek near Fulton, NY. Dendrochronological analysis of 32 spruce logs from this collection has produced several chronologies, one 183 years in length and a second of 147 years with a possible crossdate yielding a chronology of 260 years. Ongoing survey of the site suggests that there is high preservation potential in the same stratigraphic units in an additional ~2 hectares of floodplain, and sample collection with subsequent analysis will increase the chronology’s sample depth, extend its length, and potentially provide a robust, independent Younger Dryas – Early Holocene 14C record. Initial assessments of climatic, hydrological, environmental, and isostatic variations and events over time from the tree rings and their stable isotopes, as well as pollen, macrofossil, and sediment analyses and isostatic modeling indicate substantial changes in the Bell Creek Valley and surrounding lowlands both during the YD and into the mid-Holocene. These changes include significant alterations in the rate, volume, and direction of stream flow, and transition from a boreal riparian environment on a low-order river to a wetlands, then back to a riparian environment with much less streamflow and occasional flooding, similar to the Bell Creek Valley today.

text: The potential for an independent source of Younger Dryas tree-ring radiocarbon data from the Lake Ontario region, North America, and its palaeoenvironmental context Tree rings are the gold standard for the calibration of radiocarbon dates into calendar years with limited error due to their annual record of radiocarbon content in the atmosphere. Currently, the tree-ring 14C data used in the International Radiocarbon Calibration curve (IntCal13) are from multiple sources back to ~ 10 ka cal BP for the northern hemisphere. However, the source for tree-ring calibration data prior to ~10 ka cal BP, including the Younger Dryas (YD) and most of the Early Holocene (EH) chronozones, is limited to central Europe. Substantial quantities of logs found in the lowlands of Lake Ontario in North America, dating from 12.1 to 11.2 ka cal BP, have great potential for providing unique YD-EH tree-ring 14C data from a new, previously unrepresented, geographic location and for adding a new perspective to ongoing debates such as the timing of the YD/EH transition in continental North America. Preliminary fieldwork yielded over 43 logs, predominantly spruce (Picea spp.), found buried in alluvial strata over 0.2 hectares of the floodplain at Bell Creek near Fulton, NY. Dendrochronological analysis of 32 spruce logs from this collection has produced several chronologies, one 183 years in length and a second of 147 years with a possible crossdate yielding a chronology of 260 years. Ongoing survey of the site suggests that there is high preservation potential in the same stratigraphic units in an additional ~2 hectares of floodplain, and sample collection with subsequent analysis will increase the chronology’s sample depth, extend its length, and potentially provide a robust, independent Younger Dryas – Early Holocene 14C record. Initial assessments of climatic, hydrological, environmental, and isostatic variations and events over time from the tree rings and their stable isotopes, as well as pollen, macrofossil, and sediment analyses and isostatic modeling indicate substantial changes in the Bell Creek Valley and surrounding lowlands both during the YD and into the mid-Holocene. These changes include significant alterations in the rate, volume, and direction of stream flow, and transition from a boreal riparian environment on a low-order river to a wetlands, then back to a riparian environment with much less streamflow and occasional flooding, similar to the Bell Creek Valley today.

year: 2015

title: Environmentalism for the environment's sake: Towards an understanding of the influence of the Māori worldview on Western environmental management perspectives in Aotearoa New Zealand through a lens of nature connectivity

authors: Jones, Haley

subjects: Nature connectedness

abstract: Individual perceptions of the natural world may be influenced by place, culture, and value systems. In exploring these perceptions through measures of environmental connectedness, this study considers the uniqueness of the socio-cultural systems of Aotearoa New Zealand in shaping individual environmental engagement. This research examines the implications of the inclusion of Māori values in environmental management policies dominated by Western environmental conceptualisations. Through semi-structured interviews of five participants who work in environmental fields in the Hamilton, Waikato Region of Aotearoa New Zealand, this research explores conceptualisations of identity and environmental discourses, interpretations of the Māori concept of kaitiakitanga and the Western concept of stewardship, career connectedness, and place attachment to Aotearoa New Zealand. Additionally, results from an online survey questionnaire of twelve respondents compare measures of connectedness to nature of respondents from California, United States of America, with those from the Waikato Region, Aotearoa New Zealand. Key findings highlight how anthropogenic worldviews can be unconscious, how understandings of cultural values may be a key factor of a strengthened environmental commitment, how expressions of Indigeneity are of value in the sciences, and how there is importance in the link between conservation values and the Māori worldview. This study exposes the importance of the implementation of improved training about, and inclusion of, Indigenous knowledge within environmental organisations in order to develop conscious awareness of how Indigenous information is being translated, applied, and respected.

text: Environmentalism for the environment's sake: Towards an understanding of the influence of the Māori worldview on Western environmental management perspectives in Aotearoa New Zealand through a lens of nature connectivity Individual perceptions of the natural world may be influenced by place, culture, and value systems. In exploring these perceptions through measures of environmental connectedness, this study considers the uniqueness of the socio-cultural systems of Aotearoa New Zealand in shaping individual environmental engagement. This research examines the implications of the inclusion of Māori values in environmental management policies dominated by Western environmental conceptualisations. Through semi-structured interviews of five participants who work in environmental fields in the Hamilton, Waikato Region of Aotearoa New Zealand, this research explores conceptualisations of identity and environmental discourses, interpretations of the Māori concept of kaitiakitanga and the Western concept of stewardship, career connectedness, and place attachment to Aotearoa New Zealand. Additionally, results from an online survey questionnaire of twelve respondents compare measures of connectedness to nature of respondents from California, United States of America, with those from the Waikato Region, Aotearoa New Zealand. Key findings highlight how anthropogenic worldviews can be unconscious, how understandings of cultural values may be a key factor of a strengthened environmental commitment, how expressions of Indigeneity are of value in the sciences, and how there is importance in the link between conservation values and the Māori worldview. This study exposes the importance of the implementation of improved training about, and inclusion of, Indigenous knowledge within environmental organisations in order to develop conscious awareness of how Indigenous information is being translated, applied, and respected.

year: 2022