 |  | | | Dear Friend, Democracy is a practice that needs to be exercised on a regular basis. Whatever your faith tradition, you can exercise that fundamental right by voting in the midterm elections, taking place next Tuesday, November 8. Learn about where to vote and how to vote early by clicking here. When voting, please be aware that there are important referendums on the back of the ballot, including some questions from the Racial Justice Commission. Learn more at our event tomorrow, November 3rd: What's on your Ballot and click here to pledge to flip over your ballot in the NYC 2022 General Election. (When you make your pledge, please make sure you let them know that the Interfaith Center of New York sent you). On October 31, 2022 26-year-old Gilberto Garcia became the latest fatality and eighteenth person to die on Rikers Island just this year. Approximately two people a month are dying on Rikers, which is why ICNY continues to host rallies and vigils to draw attention to this critical issue prioritized by faith leaders in our 2021 Racial and Economic Justice Compact. Join us for some part of the 18 hours of action in honor of 18 lives taken in New York City Jails this year, taking place tomorrow at City Hall Thursday, November 3rd from 8 AM until midnight. There will be a 7pm interfaith vigil commemorating the lives lost in DOC custody, and organizers have expressed a need for clergy participation. If you wish to participate or sign up for a specific timeslot, you can RSVP here. Clergy are especially needed from 6 to 8 pm. This event is organized by the Jails Action Coalition, #HALTsolitary Campaign, Freedom Agenda, VOCAL-NY, and Visionary V. Later in the month, on Nov. 19 from 1-3 PM ET, I hope you will join Circles of Support for kNOw Justice Here witn activists, family members, academics, faith leaders, and elected officials discussing the painful impact of gun violence. Speakers will include Rashon Johnson, Destini Phillipot, Pastor Gil Monrose, Dr. Jamein P. Cunningham, Oresa Napper-Williams, Apostle Staci Ramos, Estelle Skrykers-Santiago. More details are below. Please also save the date for ICNY’s 40th Rabbi Marshall T. Meyer Retreat on Housing, taking place on December 15th with the NYC Comptroller Brad Lander’s Office entitled Housing Now: Faith Communities Call to Action. For more details and to learn how your congregation can become involved, please contact Hanadi Doleh at Hanadi@interfaithcenter.org. Sincerely, | |  | The Rev. Dr. Chloe Breyer
ICNY Executive Director | | | | | |  | | Upcoming NYC Primary Election | | What's On My Ballot? An Interfaith Conversation on the Racial Justice Ballot Proposals | | Thursday, Nov. 3: 6:00 PM Union Theological Seminary James Memorial Chapel (90 Claremont Ave, New York, NY, 10027) | | In collaboration with NYC Racial Justice Commission's #FlipTheBallot initiative and FPWA, ICNY is hosting an Interfaith conversation on the Racial Justice Ballot Proposals being voted on in this upcoming NYC General Election. Speaking at the event will be Harold Miller - Executive Director of the NYC Racial Justice Commission, Min. Yolanda Richard - Director of Membership and Strategic Partnerships at the NYC Racial Justice Commission and Dominique Atchison - Director of Racial Justice Initiatives at ICNY. Click here to pledge to flip over your ballot in NYC 2022 General Election, when you pledge make sure you let them know that the Interfaith Center of New York sent you. If you have any questions, please reach out to Dominique Atchison Dominique@interfaithcenter.org. | | | | | | | |  | | Housing Now: Faith Communities Call to Action | | Thursday, December 15: 9:00 AM - 2:00 PM on Zoom and 4:00 - 6:00 PM in person | | Please save the date for ICNY’s 40th Rabbi Marshall Meyer Retreat on the Housing Crisis and faith communities in partnership with the NYC Comptroller's Office upcoming on Dec. 7. Learn how your congregation can become involved. Contact Hanadi@interfaithcenter.org for more information. | | | | | | |  | Close Rikers Rally and Vigil Day of Action: End NYC's Death Penalty | Thursday, November 3 : 6:00 AM - Midnight @ City Hall Park (Broadway &, Chambers St, New York, NY 10007) Please join family members of people killed by NYC jails, survivors of Rikers, and allied organizations at City Hall Park on Thursday, November 3rd for 18 hours of action in honor of the 18 lives taken by New York City jails this year. As the humanitarian crisis of Rikers continues, this event will be calling on Mayor Adams and other officials to release people from city jails, stop sending people to these deadly jails, and protect the human rights of all New Yorkers. Throughout the day there will be commemoration of the lives lost at Rikers and The Boat, holding speak outs, doing outreach, and incorporating art and performance. Some of the main events during the day will be: - 11am rally & press conference - 7pm vigil in honor of lives taken by NYC jails - 11:30pm closing ceremony Other activities throughout the day will include: - 9am Afro-Puerto Rican drumming with Dr. Drum
- 10am Resistance Revival Chorus
- 12:30pm Spoken word performance with Messiah Ramkissoon
- 8pm - 10pm - Film Screenings - "RIKERS: An American Jail" and "The Interview"
This event is organized by the Jails Action Coalition, #HALTsolitary Campaign, Freedom Agenda, VOCAL-NY, and Visionary V To register click here or the button below. | | | | | | |  | Community Resource for Suicide Prevention/Education Soul Shop: Ministering to Faith Communities Affected by Suicide | Wednesday, November 9 : 8:30 AM - 3:30 PM EST @ First Presbyterian Church (12 West 12th Street, New York, NY 10011) It’s estimated that one out of every two people in a given congregation has personally been affected by suicide. Soul Shop trains faith community leaders to offer support, hope and connection to those in their congregations. Co-sponsored by the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, Soul Shop equips participants with the resources and guidance they need to foster hope and healing in their community. For more information or if you have any questions reach out to Sarah Jamgotch at SJamgotch@afsp.org or (616) 330-9046. | | | | | | |  | Commemorating Kristallnacht: When History Interrupts Our Lives: Kristallnacht, 84 Years Later Annual Frederick M Schweitzer Kristallnacht Lecture | Wednesday, November 9 : 7:00 PM EST @ Manhattan College Kelly Commons room 5C and via Zoom | The horrific violence of the November 1938 pogroms shattered any hope of German Jews for remaining in their country. In the United States there was an immediate outcry, including national radio protest broadcasts by Catholic and Protestant leaders. The outrage died all too soon, but we still commemorate this date and its haunting impact. Victoria Barnett will reflect on what happens when history so dramatically interrupts human lives--and what this means for our own obligations to the victims of history today. Featured Speaker: Victoria Barnett Ph.D., Frank Talbott, Jr. Endowed Visiting Professor at the University of Virginia. She served as the director of the programs on Ethics, Religion, and the Holocaust at the U. S. Holocaust Memorial Museum from 2004-2019, and was one of the general editors of the multivolume Dietrich Bonhoeffer Works, English Edition. | | | | | | |  | Conversations on Community Safety kNOw Justice Here Conference | Wednesday, November 16 : 1:00 - 3:30 PM EST @ Exodus Transitional Community (2271 3rd Ave, New York, NY 10035) | Join Circles of Support for kNOw Justice Here, where activists and family members, academics, faith leaders, and elected officials will discuss the painful impact of gun violence on black and brown communities and potential solutions of hope for community safety. Come to this conference to learn more about advocacy for change, criminalization of victims, policing, public safety, resources for impacted families, violence intervention programs and more. For more information or if you have any questions reach out to Thomas@circlesofsupport.org. | | | | |  | Resource Collection for Asylum Seekers Day of Service for Asylum Seekers | Sunday, November 20 : 1:00 - 5:00 PM EST @ Temple Shaaray Tefila (250 East 79th Street, New York, NY 10075) | Shaaray Tefila is hosting an interfaith gathering with the Synagogue Coalition, various churches and faith based organizations, and Manhattan Together, to support the migrant Asylum Seekers who are arriving on buses daily in New York City. From 1-3 PM, we will join as a community to package welcome food bags and personal hygiene kits, make cheese sandwiches and sort donated clothing. At 3 PM we will hear from Ruth Messinger (ICNY Board Member) and Ilze Thielmann from Team TLC-NYC with the latest update on the Asylum Seekers situation. At 4 PM, we will gather in prayer as a community for a Thanksgiving Interfaith Service. How to help: 1) Come to help sort, pack and learn. 2) Donate funds to buy Welcome Food Bags and Personal Hygiene Kits ($30/set)* 3) Donate Specific Clothing: (Bring with you on 11/20 or drop it off 11/13-19) https:// docs.google.com/document/d/13CapmGdb 4dFC E6G7CNvf8X1Q 5E80P8t6K0VbtgWu0k/edit?usp=sharing. 4) Buy Needed Items: (To be delivered directly to Shaaray Tefila) https:// docs.google.com/document/d/1zi5r8yC54Tc8jPhQyCkBIOG6LG5yumqY80Wo- LzE-XA/edit?usp=sharing. We hope you will join us for this day of service, learning, and gratitude. All are welcome at 1 to help sort and pack. For more details on donating or volunteering , please reach out to Carol.Crossen@gmail.com or Jolie.Schwab@gmail.com. This event requires proof of vaccination. If you or your congregation would like to help us buy additional toiletries and shelf staple foods, the package being putting together costs $30 per asylum seeker and you may donate funds for these prior to Nov. 7. Contact Jolie.Schwab@gmail.com if you are interested Checks can be made out to Temple Shaaray Tefila. Shelters are still filling with migrants and if the items we pack are not needed at the Port Authority, they will be sent to the migrant populations in the shelters. Also, direct donations to Team TLC-NYC can be made to ttlcnyc.org/donate | | | | | | |  | Collection for those in need Ongoing Collection of Fall/Winter Clothes @ St. John the Divine | Monday-Saturday: 10:00 AM - 5:00 PM, Sunday: 3:00 -5:00 PM St. John the Divine (1047 Amsterdam Ave, New York, NY 10025) | Cathedral Community Cares at St. John the Divine has a clothing closet where for free we give away clothing, shoes and accessories to homeless, 3 tier, low-income and migrant clients. We are in desperate need FOR FALL AND WINTER gently used, worn and washed FALL WINTER clothing, shoes and accessories. Please donate the goods to the security booth at 111 Street and Amsterdam Avenue up the long driveway to the booth and they will call out staff to receive them or simply place in the office. For more information email info@stjohndivine.org. | | | | |  | Resource Collection for Asylum Seekers | Donation Drive for Asylum Seekers Arriving in NYC | The Mayor's Office of Faith Based and Community Partnerships have set up drop off locations throughout the City to help support the newly arrived migrants and asylum seekers. What to donate: New Packaged Clothing - pants, long sleeve shirts, socks, underwear, for children, men and women (all sizes). Toiletries and Hygiene Items - diapers, deodorant, menstrual products (unopened), baby wipes. Where to Donate: List of drop off points in all five boroughs available in the above flier. With 15000 migrants now here are at a breaking point - if your house of worship would love to join our *Adopt-A-Shelter* program, let The Mayor's Office of Faith Based and Community Partnerships know. They have the locations and now need matches. For more information please email ofcp@cityhall.nyc.gov. | | | | |  | Resource Collection for Asylum Seekers | Purchase Essentials for Asylum Seekers Arriving in NYC | As many of you know, New York City has received over 12,000 asylum seekers in the past two months from Texas. While the majority are Latinx from Central America, many are our Muslim brothers and sisters from West Africa. The asylum seekers are randomly dropped off at Port Authority without essential needs like shoes, hygiene products and etc. Muslim Community Network has launched an Amazon wishlist to secure essential items for these migrants and asylum seekers to ease the transition process. The wishlist includes essentials such as winter coats, undergarments, toothpaste, toothbrushes, deodorant, body wash, shoes, prayer mats, blankets, and more. By making a purchase, you are directly contributing to helping migrants in need that don’t have a support system. Here is the link to make a purchase: https://www.amazon.com/hz/wishlist/ls/17SIY5IGC0LKB?ref_=wl_share. If you have any questions you can email Maryam@mcnny.org. | | | | | | |  | Survey to aid faith-based organizations | Department of Youth and Community Development (DYCD) Faith-Based Organization Survey | The Office of FaithBased and Community Partnerships (OFCP) is partnering with the Department of Youth and Community Development (DYCD) to help smaller organizations partner with the DYCD to help match orgs with access to space, funding, resources. Your responses will help to plan a Citywide response to support faith-based organizations like yours that may be interested in providing further social services to your communities in collaboration with New York City government. Please take the time to fill out this survey. | | | | | 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. | | | | | |
