 |  | On Nov. 14, 2022, ICNY was recognized for receiving the 2020 Guru Nanak Interfaith Prize at Hofstra University. Pictured left to right: New York State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli, Acting Dean of Hofstra College of Liberal Arts and Sciences Daniel Seabold, Tejinder Singh Bindra, the Rev. Dr. Chloe Breyer, and Hofstra University President Susan Poser. | | Dear Friend, December's festivals and seasons of light from Hanukkah and Advent to Kwanzaa, provide hope at a time of year when the days are short. In this spirit, the Interfaith Center of New York shines a light on the wisdom of religious communities who are addressing New York City's social problems. On December 15th, our 40th Rabbi Marshall Meyer Retreat will be Housing Now: Faith Communities' Call to Action in partnership with the NYC Comptroller's Office. You can register here for this hybrid retreat and workshops focused on Emergency Housing & Homelessness, Tenant's Rights, Housing for Vulnerable Populations, and Public Housing. We also invite you to join us on December 6, when we will be hosting an interfaith anti-gun violence training and walk in the Bronx. Register here to join us at the Parkchester Public Library. Before the interfaith anti-gun violence training at 5:30, meet us at 12pm at the Parkchester 6 train station for the National Public Safety Honor Day Walk, cosponsored by TBS New Direction, Bangladeshi American Community Council, Islamic Cultural Center of North America, The Bronx Youth, Interfaith Coalition For Peace and Public Safety, Community Board 9, 43rd Precinct Council, and many others. On Monday, November 14th, members of the staff of ICNY attended the 2022 Guru Nanak Interfaith Prize Banquet and received in-person recognition for the award the Interfaith Center of New York won in 2020. ICNY received this acknowledgement alongside this year's current recipient, filmmaker Amardeep Singh creator of the extraordinary documentary series Allegory: A Tapestry of Guru Nanak’s Travels. Established at Hofstra University with a gift from the family of Sardar Ishar Singh Bindra and Sardarni Kuljit Kaur Bindra, the Guru Nanak Interfaith Prize is named after the founder of Sikhism, Guru Nanak, who “taught that we discover our oneness with humanity by exploring the differences that separate us.” The award is presented every two years, with the Dalai Lama being the first prize winner in 2008. ICNY shared the award with Karen Armstrong in 2020. Finally, as the year draws to a close, please look for the Interfaith Center of New York's 2022 Annual Report forthcoming in the days ahead. If this e-newsletter has been useful to you, if you have benefitted from our programs, and especially if you hope for a stronger, more civically engaged New York in 2023, I invite you to support our work by making an end-of-year contribution by clicking here. Your support is vital to our work. Please keep an eye open in the days ahead for photographs and stories of an extraordinary year in review. Sincerely, | |  | The Rev. Dr. Chloe Breyer
ICNY Executive Director | | P.S. In light of the overlap in holidays during this season and the desire to foster interfaith and intergroup relations between Jewish New Yorkers and their neighbors, UJA Federation of New York is offering micro grants for events that bring together children, teenagers and young families. These grants will be up to $5,000 and the deadline to apply is December 2nd. For more information, click here. | | | | | |  | | 40th Rabbi Marshall T. Meyer Retreat for Social Justice | | 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 | | Religious and civic leaders are invited to join the Interfaith Center of New York and the Office of New York City Comptroller Brad Lander for a conference supporting diverse New York faith communities as they address the city's decades-long housing crisis. The community cosponsors for this conference are Harlem Congregations for Community Improvement, Inc., Interfaith Assembly on Housing and Homelessness, New York State Council of Churches and Chhaya CDC. For many decades, the New York metropolitan area has suffered from an increasing shortage of affordable housing. The Covid-19 pandemic and the upsurge in migrant arrivals have only increased the need for housing. Market-rate rents in New York City are increasing faster than in any large city in the country, leaving low-income New Yorkers faced with rising rents they cannot afford. Faith leaders and communities are playing important roles in addressing this crisis. Faith-based organizations and congregations are responding to skyrocketing housing prices with protests and policy proposals, as well as by building new affordable housing and offering temporary housing for those in need. This conference will highlight concrete steps faith leaders can take to address the affordable housing crisis in their local communities and beyond. The conference will feature a keynote address from Brad Lander, New York City Comptroller. The online conference will be followed by a tour of an affordable housing site and a community conversation at Harlem Congregations for Community Improvement. Please click here for registration and conference schedule. The conference is open to all religious and civic leaders. It will be held on Zoom -- registered participants will receive the Zoom link after registering. The affordable housing tour and community conversation will begin at 4:00 pm sharp. Please meet us in front of Harlem Congregations for Community Improvement at 256 West 153rd Street, New York, NY 10039. Questions about the conference? Please contact Hanadi Doleh, ICNY's Director of Community Partnerships, at hanadi@interfaithcenter.org. | | | | | | |  | | NYC Public Safety and Anti-Gun Violence | | Building Peace in Parkchester: An Interfaith Anti-Gun Violence Training and Community Walk | | Tuesday, December 6: 5:30 PM EST Parkchester Public Library (1985 Westchester Ave, The Bronx, NY 10462) | | Join the Interfaith Center, Garden of Gethsemane Ministries and the Buddhist Council of New York for: Building Peace in Parkchester: An Interfaith Anti-Gun Violence Training and Community Walk. Hear from faith and community leaders who have dedicated their ministry to the work of peace and ending gun violence. Learn how you can engage in the work of anti-gun violence. This training and community walk is made possible by generous support from Council Member Amanda Farias. The event will be IN PERSON at the Parkchester Public Library. The event is open to the community, all are welcome. Click here to register or the button below. Before the training at 5:30 meet us at 12pm at the Parkchester 6 train station for the National Public Safety Honor Day Walk, cosponsored by TBS New Direction, Bangladeshi American Community Council, Islamic Cultural Center of North America, The Bronx Youth, Interfaith Coalition For Peace and Public Safety, Community Board 9, 43rd Precinct Council, Senator Luis Sepulveda, Assemblyman Kenneth Burgos, Councilwoman Amanda Farias, Al Shaib Community Center, Operation FISH, Lifestyle Lifespan, National Community Peacebuilding Commission, and Muslim Media Corporation. If you have any questions, please reach out to Dominique Atchison Dominique@interfaithcenter.org. | | | | | | | |  | Fireside Chat with Reda A. Taleb for her new book: Noura's Extraordinary Superpower | Thursday, Dec. 8: 4:00-5:30 PM EST @ AAFSC Community Center (384 - 386 Atlantic Ave Brooklyn, NY 11217) We are elated to be joining our community partners for a Fireside Chat with Author Reda A. Taleb! Hosted by the AAFSC, Reda will discuss her children's book, "Noura's Extraordinary Superpower!" with a focus on the impact of incarceration on Arab Americans/Muslims. She will be in conversation with AAFSC Mental Health Clinician, Razia Begum, LMSW, moderated by Susan Shah, Managing Director of Trinity Church Wall Street. All attendees will receive a signed, FREE copy of Reda's book! Light refreshments will be served. Reda will be speaking in both Arabic and English. We look forward to seeing you there! You can register for the event by clicking here or the button below. | | | | | | | | |  | Peace Corps: International Volunteer Day - Community Service Organizers | Monday, December 5: 7:00 PM EST via Zoom Serving in the Peace Corps is a great way to immerse yourself in a new culture, learn a new language, and make a lasting impact. Join Peace Corps panelists as they share how Peace Corps service, continued their commitment to community organizing, and volunteering. Ask questions and gain tips to guide you through the application process. If you require reasonable accommodations when attending a Peace Corps event, please contact Carole Anne Reid creid@peacecorps.gov and provide details of the reasonable accommodation you are requesting. Click here to register or the button below. | | | | | | |  | Uniter or Divider? Explore Religion in Modern America with the podcast team at How God Works | Wednesday, December 7: 7:30 - 9:00 PM EST @ The Greene Space (44 Charlton Street New York, NY 10014) | Join PRX's How God Works Podcast for a live event on December 7th at WNYC’s The Greene Space in New York City to explore how beliefs affect our minds, why something that has the potential to connect us so deeply can divide us so profoundly, and whether, regardless of what we believe, we can learn from what religion gets right at times to find a way to come together. Host Dave DeSteno will be speaking with a panel of leading spiritual thinkers and social scientists who have experienced both sides of the issue, including Central Synagogue Rabbi Angela Buchdahl, award-winning author and Christian Historian Diana Butler Bass, The University of North Carolina’s Deepest Beliefs Lab director Kurt Gray, and The Aspen Institute’s Religion and Society Program’s executive director Simran Jeet Singh. Lobby doors open at 7:00pm, with the speaker panel beginning at 7:30pm. For those not in NY, we'll also be livestreaming at: https://youtu.be/xNBB4FDsdeM. Click here to register or the button below. | | | | | | |  | How Faith-Based Organizations Can Access City Funding | Thursday, December 15: 6:00 - 8:00 PM EST 2 Lafayette Street #14th floor New York, NY 10007 | Bring your business cards and join the DYCD Capacity Building team for an in-person event to meet leaders from New York City community and faith based organizations to find out how to apply for NYC Discretionary funding. You will: - Network with other leaders in your community
- Find out how apply for discretionary funding
- Get connected to additional resources and workshops for emerging nonprofits
Click here to register or the button below. | | | | | | | | |  | 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. | | | 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. | | | | | |
