Sunray at the United Nations

Sunray Meditation Society’s mission of peacemaking is infused with the wisdom of indigenous people around the world.  The Sunray community works to align its voice and global work with indigenous communities who are seeking to create sustainable futures for their people and to live in peace. In the end, all this work redounds to the benefit of all sentient beings.

Through the efforts of Rev. Margie Joy Walden, under the direction of Sunray’s spiritual director, Venerable Dhyani Ywahoo, Sunray achieved recognition by the United Nations in August 1992 and became an accredited non-governmental organization (NGO) in association with the United Nations Department of Global Communications (DGC). The work has been carried forward by Reverend Sandra Sheridan since the late 1990’s and Carolyn DiCarlo since 2015.

Sunray’s spiritual work and community activities are helping to advance three of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals:

• Achieve Gender Equality and empower all women and girls;
• Ensure availability and sustainable water and sanitation management for all; and
• Protect, restore and promote sustainable use of terrestrial eco-systems, sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, and halt and reverse land degradation and halt bio-diversity loss.

You can read more about our efforts in About Sunray’s NGO Activities.  In addition, our Resources page has more information on the UN, Indigenous Peoples and the DGC.