 | | | Dear Friend, One year after the first buses sent by Governor Abbot of Texas pulled up at Port Authority, an estimated 59,400 migrants have joined the tens of thousands of New Yorkers already in need of housing. In response, diverse faith leaders, secular activists, and volunteers from across the State will launch “The Covenant on behalf the Newest New Yorkers” on the 12th of this month, which will call on government and faith communities to: - welcome new arrivals into our City and State;
- see them appropriately sheltered;
- provide housing vouchers so they can move out of shelters;
- expedite work authorization;
- provide education and health services; and
- provide legal and pro se assistance with asylum applications
We invite you to take action with ICNY before September 12th by adding adding your name to the Covenant here. This month, ICNY is gearing up for a new cohort of Interfaith Civic Leadership Academy fellows who will receive stipends for community organizing training, leadership skill building, and interfaith dialogue with dynamic emerging faith leaders, then conclude the program applying for a grant to create their own community-based project. Here's what recent ICLA graduate Rev. Holly Bonner said about the program: "Thanks to the Interfaith Civic Leadership Academy, I was able to launch my own nonprofit organization – Accessible Interfaith Ministries – promoting disability rights and inclusion in faith communities. . . . Never did I imagine that the ICLA would lay that desire on my heart. Interfaith Center of New York, you have changed the trajectory of my life through this program, and I am indebted to you." Applications are open. Deadline is October 22 To apply, click here. You can see the schedule and workshop topics here. We are proud this month also to inaugurate a partnership with the new Perleman Performing Arts Center located in the World Trade Center complex downtown. In particular, ICNY resonates with the PAC's mission to "form bonds between extraordinary artists and local communities" as well as its commitment that "our art and our audiences reflect the dynamic energy of all five boroughs of New York City" including faith communities. Tickets are available for PAC's premier concert series this month in the Refuge: A Concert Series to Welcome the World Finally, Mayor Eric Adams administration in the spirit of inclusivity supported a bill that says that the Muslim Call to Prayer, "the Adhan" can be amplified. According to Afaf Nasher, the executive director of CAIR's New York chapter as quoted in this AP article, the Adhan is a call "to unity reflection, and community." Good news for all New Yorkers. Sincerely, | |  | The Rev. Dr. Chloe Breyer ICNY Executive Director | | | | | |  | Interfaith Civic Leadership Academy Applications from Faith Leaders Due by October 22nd Be the change you want to see in New York Throughout New York, diverse faith leaders are creating positive change for their own communities and the city as a whole. With support from the Robert Sterling Clark Foundation and Trinity Church Wall Street, ICNY’s Interfaith Civic Leadership Academy gives them the tools they need to make a difference. Our ICLA fellows are diverse clergy members, lay leaders, and faith-based activists working to improve the lives of New Yorkers. In a series of evening workshops, they build relationships across faith lines while learning effective strategies for community leadership, organizing, and advocacy. They then use these skills to create community projects that contribute to the civic life of New York. Each fellow receives $500 in grant funding for their community project, as well as a $500 personal stipend to honor their commitment to the program. We hope you’ll apply to join the next Leadership Academy, or share this opportunity with colleagues and community members! Applications are due by Sunday, October 22. For more information and an application visit interfaithcenter.org/icla. Questions? Contact hanadi@interfaithcenter.org. | | | |  | Welcome to the ICNY Team Our New Racial Justice Advocacy Fellow Welcome our new Racial Justice Advocacy Fellow, Shanaz Deen. Shanaz holds a BA from Princeton University and an MA from Union Theological Seminary in Islam and Interreligious Engagement. She has over five years of experience in humanitarian work, interfaith organizing, and migration policy, working for Princeton’s Religion and Forced Migration Initiative, the International Rescue Committee, and UN Women. As a freelance photographer, Shanaz documents social movements, protests, and nuanced expressions of lived religion through documentary and portrait photography. She is eager to use her skills in research and visual storytelling to advocate for a more equitable and compassionate society. | |  |  | NYC Needs Your House of Worship Support the Newest New Yorkers by Sheltering Asylees Since last summer, over 44,000 asylum seekers have arrived on their own or been transported to New York City without regard for their wellbeing. Hundreds continue to arrive each week. The NYC shelter system, hotels and alternative housing sites have been overwhelmed as asylum seekers try to find safe shelter while awaiting immigration court proceedings. While most are single men, single women and families with children are also arriving. Many of these fellow global citizens in crisis have fled unimaginable conditions in their country of origin and then experienced an arduous journey on their way to New York City. The city has been providing hotels, homeless shelters, and other mass care spaces as housing on a temporary basis. We are proposing to fund congregations, of any faith tradition, to provide temporary small group shelter housing to single adult male and female asylees. The program would provide shelter for the next 12-24 months while all of us continue to call on the state and Federal government to help address this need for more permanent housing. We are seeking houses of worship in all faith traditions that can meet the practical requirements outlined in the flyer above. In exchange for your hospitality, congregations will be paid a monthly fee -- to cover all required operating expenses related to meeting each asylees' basic human needs and to offset space use costs. Click the buttons below if your house of worship can help. | | | | | | | | OTHER EVENTS & ANNOUNCMENTS | |  | We Deserve a Fossil Free Future Join the March to End Fossil Fuels September 17th, 1:00 P.M. NYC, 56th & Broadway The United Nations is calling on world leaders to take real steps to lead us off fossil fuels to protect people and the planet. On September 20th in New York, the UN Climate Ambition Summit will gather world leaders to commit to phasing out fossil fuels. Thousands of us will take to the streets before the summit to demand President Biden take bold action to end fossil fuels. Click the buttons below to RSVP to join the march/for more information. | | | | | |  | Compassion Challenge Global Interfaith Compassion Challenge September 10th-31st, 2023 Starting September 10, join us for a global 21-day Interfaith Compassion Challenge! Although 9/11 has become associated in recent years with terror and conflict, the date across history has been associated with movements of nonviolence, interfaith cooperation, and discovery. In the spirit of amplifying those values, we invite you to join us in exploring different ways to bring the timeless virtue of compassion into our lives -- and to weave together a tapestry of collective wisdom with kindred spirits (from 85 countries last time)! Click the button below to learn more and sign up. | | | |  | Services for Migrants Golden Door Project Volunteer Opportunities & Services Available The Golden Door Project is a network of student and adult volunteers with various language skills who offer their time to help newly arrived immigrants with translation, interpretation, form completion, tutoring, and other services to help ease their transition. We have an online appointment-based system, listing all the services we offer. Volunteers can register for as many hours as they can be available online, according to their schedules, and clients can sign up for the language and type of support they seek with volunteers. As we add volunteers to our network, we hope to be able to offer a multitude of languages. If you are interested in volunteering or know anybody who may benefit from this service, click the button below to visit the website. | | | |  | Multifaith Sacred Music Festival Devotion: Faith as Refuge September 20th, 8:00PM Perelman Performing Arts Center 231 Fulton Street (World Trade Center) ICNY is thrilled to be an anchor partner of the new Perelman Performing Arts Center, a major cultural institution in the heart of Lower Manhattan, and a testament to the power of the arts to unite and inspire diverse New Yorkers. Please join us at PAC NYC on September 20 at 8:00 pm, for a celebration of faith and spiritual traditions expressed through the power of music. Featuring soaring Gospel anthems, lively klezmer melodies, percussive Yoruba religious music, hypnotic Gnawa rhythms, and more, this evening gathers internationally acclaimed artists from diverse faith backgrounds for an uplifting tribute to art and song as a source of refuge and hope. Performers will include: Arun Ramamurthy & Trina Basu, ft. Samarth Nagarkar The Choir of Trinity Church Wall Street and Trinity Youth Chorus ÌFÉ Innov Gnawa The Klezmatics Damien Sneed and Chorale Le Chateau Tanya Tagaq Tickets for this show and the entire “Refuge” concert series are Pay-What-You-Wish, ranging from $15 to $120 per ticket. All are welcome! | | | |  | Japan Society Peace Symposium New York 2023 September 21st, 3:00-6:00PM Japan Society 333 E. 47th Street, New York, NY 10017 Peace Symposium New York 2023 - "Peacemaking at the Intersection of Culture, Art, and Nature" co-presented by Japan Institute of Portland Japanese Garden & Japan Society This is a free, public symposium exploring the evolving role of public spaces as the platform for peace-building and community engagement. A reception will follow the event. Registration is required, click the buttons below to register/visit the website. | | | | | | The Interfaith Center of New York (ICNY) works to overcome prejudice, violence, and misunderstanding by activating the power of the city's grassroots religious and civic leaders and their communities. | | | | | |
