Introducing Adriana DiFazio and New Essay

We are very pleased to introduce to you Adrian DiFazio, a third-year MDiv student at Union Theological Seminary in New York City studying Buddhism and Interreligious Engagement and completing her Field Education placement with the Compassion Consortium.

Adriana DiFazio (she/her) is a third-year MDiv student at Union Theological Seminary in New York City studying Buddhism and Interreligious Engagement. She is completing her Field Education for her MDiv degree with the Compassion Consortium and is a student in the Ordained Animal Chaplaincy Training.

Adriana was drawn to the Compassion Consortium for her field education experience to bridge and supplement her human-centered chaplaincy training to include the more-than-human world. She is most excited about developing her theological thinking in company and collaboration with other eco-animal centered spiritually oriented humans.

You can follow along with Adriana's MDiv thesis research on Instagram @vegantheologian.

In this month's essay, Adriana explores a profound question: "How can pro-animal rights movements and scholars play on affective congruences for the benefit of non-human animals? How can pro-animal movements create a feeling, embodied karmic ripening in favor of non-human animals on a cultural scale?"

Click here to read Adriana's Essay

Rev. William

CC Cofounders to Present at the Parliament of the World's Religions

The Compassion Consortium is very proud to announce that the CC Cofounders have been selected to present at the Parliament of the World’s Religions, August 14-18, 2023, in Chicago.

The Parliament of the World's Religions was created to cultivate harmony among the world's religious and spiritual communities and foster their engagement with the world and its guiding institutions in order to achieve a just, peaceful and sustainable world.

Its origins are rooted in the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition in Chicago, where the historic first convening of the World Parliament of Religions created a global platform for engagement of religions of the east and west.

For more information about this event, its programs and registration details, see Parliament of the World's Religions – The Global Interfaith Movement (parliamentofreligions.org).

Following are the events in which the CC cofounders will be participating. Please join us in congratulating these cofounders for their selection to the program, and we hope you can join us in Chicago:

• Moving Toward a Good Karma Diet: Workshop Victoria Moran

• Women's Self-Care Immersion: Workshop Victoria Moran

• Human Rights, Creation Rights: A Christian Perspective.: Panel Martin Rowe, Candace Laughinghouse, Vanessa Nakate, moderator Victoria Moran

• A Christian and A Pagan walk into an animal shelter: Creative ideas for interspecies justice: Rev. Sarah Bowen, Rev. Dr. Betz King

• A Call to Conscience: Defending Freedom and the Rights of all Sentient Beings: panel Barbara Gardner, Dr Alka Arora, Charlotte Cressey, Victoria Moran, Lisa Levinson

• An Interfaith Celebration for Animals: Religious Observance Rev. Sarah Bowen, Rev. Carol Saunders, Lisa Levinson, Barbara Gardner

• Animal Chaplaincy Training at Compassion Consortium: Booth on Exhibit Floor: Rev. Sarah Bowen; Victoria Moran; Rev. William Melton, plus graduated ACT students

Thank you,

Rev. William

Ha-Ha-HA, This is Really Funny

Please read the article below, which describes how a young pigeon was dyed pink for an imbecilic human “gender reveal” party and then released into a NYC park to die. Ha-ha-ha, this is really funny, isn't it?

NYC pigeon dyed pink sparks speculation of 'sickening' gender reveal: 'What is wrong with people?' | Fox News

So, I have a few questions and observations:

· What, exactly, is wrong with the human species?

· Why do humans enjoy torturing and abusing non-human animals

· Is there no end to the cruelty of humans to non-human animals

· Will there ever be?

· Sometimes I am ashamed to be a member of the human species. This is one of those times.

Fortunately, this pigeon was rescued by a kind human (of which there are many) and taken to the Wild Bird Fund on the upper west side of Manhattan (Home - Wild Bird Fund). This is an excellent organization dedicated to providing medical care and rehabilitation to native and passing migrant wildlife so that they can be released back into the wild. This is where we met our rescue pigeon Thunder the Wunder pigeon,

who could not be released into the wild because he is blind in one eye and cannot fly.

I don't know if the pink pigeon can ever be released back into the wild, I wonder if Thunder the Wunder pigeon would like a friend?

Rev. William