Message from ICNY Executive Director
Dear Friends,
Many of you already know that ICNY’s Director of Community Partnerships, Dr. Sarah Sayeed, transitioned to the Mayor’s Office in June were she is a Senior Advisor to the Office of Community Affairs Unit and will be working with Muslim Communities of New York on city policy. Here is a link to the Mayor’s statement of her appointment. We commend Sarah’s blog below to you.
One of Sarah’s great accomplishments while at the Interfaith Center was to catalyze Muslim-Catholic service projects and dialogue across the five boroughs. To that end, ICNY would like to thank LTG Associates for a thought-provoking evaluation of our 2010-2014 Catholic-Muslim Joint Action initiatives in the Bronx, Manhattan and Staten Island.
Other events going on around town include the Ganesh Temple in Queens’ celebration of its 38th Anniversary of the Temple. Visitors are invited for two days of celebration from July 3rd -July 4th. In addition, on July 18th, The Hindu Temple Society of North American will be having its annual picnic.
Union Theological Seminary, The Riverside Church, ICNY, and the Peace Islands Institute host two interfaith Iftar dinners this year, examining themes of Ramadan and food justice. The first was June 29th at the Riverside Church and the second will be on July 7th at Union Theological Seminary.
Muslim Advocates filed a federal lawsuit challenging the New York MTA’s refusal to run comedic ads about American Muslims. The ads, created by Dean Obeidallah and Negin Farsad, use humor to talk about American Muslims. While the MTA initially approved the ads to run on the New York City subways, it later revoked the approval, citing new policies. Please visit Muslim Advocate’s website for more info on the lawsuit. Dean and Negin share their rationale for filing the lawsuit in this great piece.
Finally, ICNY is conducting a search for a Director of Community Partnerships. Click here for a job description and further information.
Blessings for the summer.
Best Wishes,
Rev. Chloe Breyer
Executive Director
The Interfaith Center of New York
Pictured left to right: Dr. Sarah Sayeed, Elly Mason-Murray,
Dr. Henry Goldshmidt, Ellen Greeley, and The Rev. Chloe Breyer
