Message from ICNY Executive Director
Dear Friends,
Many New York-based faith organizations are raising money for victims of the earthquake in Nepal. They include:
The Ganesh Temple
The American Jewish World Service
United Sikhs
Tibet House
Please consider donating to one or more of these organizations for earthquake relief.
Another development relevant to faith leaders of diverse backgrounds, was the MTA’s decision this week to ban all non-commercial speech from the New York Subway system. The decision was in response to another round of hate-ads from Pamela Geller and her group, the American Freedom Defense Initiative.
Other responses to the ads included a press release by Jews Against Islamophobia Coalition, and a series of alternative humorous subway ads, the “Fighting-Bigotry-with-Delightful-Posters Campaign” organized by Dean Obeidallah, a regular Daily Beast contributor, and Negin Farsad, a comedian, filmmaker & TED Fellow. (Dean Obeidallah will be the Master of Ceremonies for this year’s James Parks Morton Interfaith Award Dinner on June 8, 2015 at the Tribeca Rooftop at 2 Debrosses St. Read more about this event and how to get tickets in Ellen Greely’s blog, below.
Baltimore and Freddie Gray’s family have been in our hearts and this video shows over 100 faith leaders of different traditions and denominations and elected officials marching in solidarity with Freddie Gray and putting themselves between police and rioters. It is non-violent action at its most courageous.
We invite you to join the Interfaith Assembly on Homelessness and Housing (IAHH) and nearly 200 faith leaders in urging the Governor and the Mayor to commit to the provision of 30,000 supportive housing units over the next 10 years for the most vulnerable New Yorkers. Their letter can be read here. To have your name added to the letter, please contact Marc Greenberg at marc@iahh.org, or watch the IAHH website later today for a signup option.
Finally, ICNY’s Program Director for Community Partnerships Dr. Sarah Sayeed, was the keynote speaker for the 31st Annual Mayor’s Interfaith Prayer Breakfast in Lincoln, Nebraska. Her presentation about Interfaith work and our common humanity was addressed in the Lincoln Journal Star, and the full text of her remarks is available here.
Click here for our May newsletter which includes many events and activities relating to interfaith work for justice. We hope that they will prove useful and engaging.
Best Wishes,
Rev. Chloe Breyer
Executive Director
The Interfaith Center of New York
