leader

5Jul

By Web TeamNo Comments

India, Noteworthy, Profiles, United States

Bhakti Charu Swami, spiritual leader

Bhakti Charu Swami ‑ a spiritual leader of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) and a disciple of ISKCON's founder A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada – passed away after contracting Covid-19 on 4 July 2020 in Florida, USA. He was born in 1945 into an aristocratic Bengali family and spent the rest of his early childhood in urban Kolkata. Leaving India in 1970 for his further education, he attended university in Germany. There, he searched out the ancient Vedic scriptures and instantly became driven to explore the depths of spirituality, discovering the richness of India’s spiritual heritage. Becoming engrossed in the depths of a book which he obtained called The Nectar of Devotion written by Srila Prabhupada, he realized that he had foun...

29Jun

By Web TeamNo Comments

Neighbors, Philippines, Profiles, United States

John Eric Swing, community leader

John Eric Swing ‑ a leader in Los Angeles’ Historic Filipinotown who had worked with multiple community organizations serving the Filipino American community – died on June 28, 2020, of COVID-19 complications. He was 48. He was the executive director of Search to Involve Pilipino Americans (SIPA), which is dedicated to Filipino American empowerment. Swing was appointed after a yearlong nationwide search. He was excited to work on the redevelopment of SIPA’s headquarters, which looked to include a small-business center, community space and a cultural center. The project was years in the making, and Swing had hoped to see it through. He had been a staff member at SIPA since 2015 and formed close relationships with coworkers. Eddy M. Gana Jr., who serves as SIPA’s mental health counselor,...

13Apr

By Web TeamNo Comments

Medics, Profiles, United States

Bishop Bruce Edward Davis, Shift Leader

Bishop Bruce Edward Davis – a Shift Leader at Central State Hospital Forensics, Milledgeville, Georgia – passed away after suffering from COVID-19. It was reported on 13 April, 2020. Davis was 57 years old. “He was just one of those people who loved people, because he was a Godly man,” said Milledgeville Mayor Mary Parham-Copelan. “What you saw with Bishop Davis was the kind of man he actually was in our community — always willing to help someone out in any way that he could and to offer them encouragement.” The mayor said “I was devastatingly shocked to hear when I heard,” Parham-Copelan told The Union-Recorder during a telephone interview Monday afternoon. “I had just seen him and at Walgreens on North Columbia Street about three weeks ago and he hollowed at me.” “He was one of the m...

7Apr

By Web TeamNo Comments

Noteworthy, Profiles, Spain

Riay Tatary, religious leader

Riay Tatary Bakry - a Syrian religious leader, chairman of the Union of Islamic Communities of Spain ‑ - died on 6 April,2020 due to COVID-19. He was imam of the Central Mosque in Madrid, Spain, as well as president of the Islamic Commission of Spain. He was born in Damascus on 19 March 1948. He settled in Spain in 1970 and studied Medicine at the University of Oviedo. He took part in the advisory committee for Freedom of Religion of the Ministry of Justice, being endowed the Encomienda of the Order of Civil Merit in 1998. He was interned in March 2020 in the Hospital de la Paz due to COVID-19 along with his wife; Tatary died weeks later, on 6 April, at the age of 72. He was buried at the Muslim cemetery of Griñón.