Message from ICNY Executive Director
Dear Friends,
This past month, The Interfaith Center of New York brought 25 public, private, and parochial K-12 teachers from around the country to New York for an immersive three-week seminar called “Religious Worlds of New York: Teaching the Everyday Life of American Religious Diversity” (see photo above). This program, funded by the National Endowment for the Humanities and in partnership with Union Theological Seminary, exposed teachers to scholars of religion, diverse clergy and lay leaders, and houses of worship around NYC. One of many highlights was this group call-and-response of a Haitian Vodou song, led by Houngan Oneza Lafontant. We extend our deepest thanks to all those who participated in the program … and look forward to next year’s Institute.
This summer, faith community involvement in prisoner reentry and criminal justice reform continues. In this newsletter, you will read Princeton Student Tylor-Maria Johnson’s account of an intern-organized ICNY/HCJC panel, “The Human Repair Business: The Restorative Justice Interfaith Panel.” Also, click here for photos and a blog by Chris Watler, Director of the Harlem Community Justice Center, about last week’s graduation for reentering citizens at the Church of the Heavenly Rest. These are men and women who will join a Speaker’s Bureau of individuals qualified to speak at universities, community centers, and houses of worship about their first-hand stories of engagement with the criminal justice system. To invite a “Raise My Voice” Speaker to your congregation, please contact Linda Steele at (347) 424-2395 or linda@circlesofsupport.org. Also, learn how to sponsor a booth for your house of worship on September 10th at The Harlem Family Carnival located at 170 E. 121 Street. This event is for formerly incarcerated individuals returning to the community along with their families and friends.
Finally, as Khizr Khan reminded us in his speech on the final night of the Democratic Convention, progress in preventing religious discrimination is still needed. Earlier this month, the US Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights issued a revised online complaint form to clarify when OCR can investigate complaints from individuals who believe they have experienced racial, ethnic, or national origin discrimination involving their religion. OCR also launched a new webpage that consolidates resources from across the Federal government about religious discrimination.
ICNY’s newsletter for August is available here.
Best Wishes,
Rev. Chloe Breyer
Executive Director
The Interfaith Center of New York
