New York Faith Communities Respond to Gun Violence

 

Keynote Address: Combatting Gun Violence at its Core 

Erica Ford is the Co-Founder of LIFE Camp Inc and is an internationally-recognized peacemaker. She is widely respected as one of the most diligent and hardworking activists of her generation. She is uncompromisingly dedicated to improving the lives of Black and Latino youth and the community at large.  For more than 30 years, this outstanding leader and internationally recognized peace activist has led the effort to combat violence and inspire youth in devastated communities. To read more about Erica and her work, click here.

 

 

 

Panel Discussion: Faith-Based Perspectives on Gun Violence

Pardeep Kaleka is the Executive Director of the Interfaith Conference of Greater Milwaukee, a de-radicalization interventionist specialist, and a trauma-focused clinical therapist. As a first-generation immigrant from India, Mr. Kaleka has spent more than 20 years in public service, law enforcement, education, and social services, working on issues of violence prevention and building coalitions across ethnic, racial, and religious cultures, and helping trauma survivors and perpetrators with recovery. As a consultant, he has developed policies and practices to help mental health workers, social service practitioners, law enforcement agents, and educators build healthier, safer, more inclusive communities. In 2012, following the hate crime committed at the Oak Creek Sikh Temple, he founded Serve2Unite, an organization that has been nationally recognized for bridging school and community groups. Today, he helps families steer their loved ones away from domestic and foreign violent extremism as a clinician with Parents4Peace.

 

Imam Souleimane Konaté is the head of the Masjid al-Aqsa mosque in Harlem for over a decade. He is also General Secretary of the Council of African Imams Inc., and the Vice-President of Harlem Islamic Leadership Inc. Deeply involved in building bridges across cultures, Konate leads the effort to promote interfaith dialogue between Muslims and non-Muslims. He practiced journalism in Saudi Arabia for several years and understands how communication can build bridges of cooperation. Imam Konaté has been profiled by many news organizations including the New York Times, NPR, and The Daily News especially for his moderate voice of reason in a post 9/11 world.

 

Pastor Gilford Monrose is a visionary leader and community advocate who dedicates his time, experience, skills, and talents to serving humanity and building bridges between people of all diversities.  A proud native of the United States Virgin Islands, he relocated to New York in 1999 to pursue his Bachelor of Arts degree in Theology and Bible Studies at Nyack College and Alliance Theological Seminary. He has always had a passion to serve the church, especially young people. He functioned as Youth Director for five years, developing programs for young people at the now historic Mt. Zion Church of God 7th Day in East Flatbush, Brooklyn New York.  In May 2005, Pastor Gil was ordained as the Pastor of the congregation.  He continues to serve in that capacity and show great, unyielding love for his church and its members.

 

Danielle Williams-Thiam has a passion for empowering diverse religious communities with tools to live out their values through social action.  She currently serves as a Community Educator with CONNECT NYC, where she collaborates with diverse faith communities to create and strengthen their response to gender and family violence.  Danielle also supports Daughters for Justice NYC in their advocacy efforts to prevent community gun violence.   She is a 2021-2022 Fellow for the Interfaith Center of New York’s Civic Leadership Academy. Previously, Danielle was a faith-based community organizer for the Live Free campaign at Sacramento Area Congregations Together, organizing to end police brutality, mass incarceration, and intra-communal violence. She holds a Masters of Divinity from Union Theological Seminary.

 

Workshop Trainers 

Natasha Christopher was born and raised on the beautiful islands of Trinidad and Tobago. After attending high school, Natasha came to the United States in the early 1990s where she obtained her GED at Medgar Evers College, later attended Plaza College to become a medical assistant, used to work as a nursing assistant at Long Island College Hospital. Her greatest accomplishment of all, however, was becoming a mother to four amazing boys: Kareem, Akeal, Rashawn, and Christopher.In 2012, Natasha’s beautiful son Akeal was taken from her in a senseless act of gun violence when he lost his life at the age of 15. Since this tragic act of losing Akeal, Natasha has become a tireless advocate against gun violence. Volunteering with Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense In America 2014, Then she became a Survivor Outreach Lead & Fellow for Everytown for Gun Safety 2015, which gave her the opportunity to meet other survivors in the fellowship program which allowed her to share her son’s story on different platforms. After meeting Pastor Giliford Monrose at a support group for mothers who lost their children to guns, Natasha became even more passionate about this issue. In 2015, Natasha was proud to become a Family Outreach Specialist Lead for the 67th Precinct Clergy Council also known as the God Squad.

 

Kercena A. Dozier is the Executive Director of the Children’s Defense Fund-NY. Kercena has a wide array of substantive experience in fighting poverty in city and state government, on a grassroots level, in partnership with unions and as a staffer for a CDFI’s community development corporation. Additionally, in a volunteer capacity, Kercena helped to start her church’s social justice ministry. Previously Kercena served as the chief of staff for a New York State Senator whose district covered Harlem, East Harlem, and the Upper West Side. As chief of staff, Kercena managed a Harlem in-district office and an Albany legislative office focused on voting reform, education justice, M/WBE support, criminal justice reform, millennial civic engagement, senior support, affordable housing, economic justice, gun violence prevention, and equitable COVID19 response. Kercena also worked for the nation’s largest social services agency, the NYC Department of Social Services (DSS), as the Director of Community Affairs for the NYC Department of Homeless Services (DHS). At DHS, Kercena was intentional about framing homelessness as a women of color and children of color racial equity issue that is rooted in systemic poverty. Through an initiative she created titled “I Am My Sister, My Sister is Me,” she brought leaders in the faith, government, legislative and nonprofit sectors together to discuss the drivers of poverty and to inspire compassion and collaborative action to address citywide poverty and homelessness. Kercena’s entire professional career has been focused on fighting poverty. She was the NYC Faith Organizer for the Fast Food Forward, Airport Worker Economic Dignity, and #RaiseUpNY campaigns. In each of these campaigns, the coalition that she was a part of achieved success at raising the wages of low-income workers in the fast food and airport industries as well as throughout the entire state through authentically engaging and organizing impacted individuals and communities.

 

Rev. Kevin Jones has an undying passion for the people of God. He is a builder and organizer of ministry. He serves the community where he Pastors with pride. Pastor Jones works closely with the 77th Pct. and 73rd Pct. Clergy Council.  He is the President of the Brooklyn Clergy/NYPD Task Force. He is also the founder of Transformation 11233, a group of Pastor’s within the same zip code bringing Transformation to their neighborhood.  Pastor currently works for SOS Program (Save our Streets) as a Clergy Liaison. Pastor Jones currently serves as Vice President of the Fourth Saturday Conference to Bishop James H. Gaylord, in the First Ecclesiastical Jurisdiction Church of God in Christ. Pastor Jones also served the Jurisdiction as the YPWW president for many years. Pastor Jones is a unique leader in the Body of Christ. He is noted for his passion for prayer, teaching, preaching, and excellence in ministry.

 

Reverend James A. Lynch is a Dharma Teacher as authorized by the lay Buddhist Organization Rissho Kosei Kai. He is an official representative for their outside affairs in the New York City area, as well as an official representative for Rissho Kosei Kai to the United Nations. He is currently the President of the Buddhist Council of New York, which represents more than 950,000 Buddhists in the Tri-State area. In addition, he has helped organize the Heiwa Peace Foundation, a think tank for peace whose primary work is done in the United States and Asia on behalf of its founder, the Venerable T.K. Nakagaki. He also sits on the Board of Religions for Peace USA, which is the largest interfaith peace organization in America, and was recently appointed as a Trustee to the prestigious international Parliament of World Religions. He is a tenured professor and Chairman of the Business Management Department in the Koppelman School of Business located at Brooklyn College, where he teaches Workplace Happiness and Spirituality.

 

Peter Murchison has been active in gun violence prevention since the shootings at Sandy Hook where his nephew Daniel Barden was killed.   He chairs the Ministry & Counsel Committee at the Wilton (CT) Quaker Meeting, which supports his work as a ministry. Peter also serves as the Gun Violence Prevention Coordinator for NYYM, a group of Quaker Meetings in NYS, and nearby CT and NJ.  Peter is involved in organizing gun buybacks, and trying to activate more people around this issue, especially in faith-based organizations.  Peter’s journey to activism, initiated in tragedy but led by Spirit, is to motivate others to take action to prevent further violence in our country. 

 

 

Apostle Dr. Staci J. Ramos is the Founder and Pastor of Garden of Gethsemane Ministries (GOGM), Founder and President of the Outreach/Prison Ministry PathWays To Miracles, President & Treasurer of HDFC Harlem, and Secretary of Lion of Judah Golden Awards Committee. She is extremely active in her community as she is currently serving as the 28th Precinct Clergy Council President, 28th Precinct Community Council VP, NYS Certified Chaplain, and NYPD Clergy Liaison. Dr. Ramos serves as the Community Board 10 Vice-Chair for Public Safety and a member of the Community Board 10 Housing Committee. Apostle Ramos is also the West 121st Block Association President and Co-Founder of Daughter 4 Justice (An Organization of New York Clergy Women Working for Radical Justice in Our Criminal Justice System).

 

Multi-Faith Prayer Leaders

Apostle Onleilove (pronounced Onlylove) Chika Alston, has organized faith communities for over a decade. She is currently the Racial Justice Organizing Fellow at the Interfaith Center of New York. She is the Co-Founder of Daughters4Justice, a faith-based community organizing nonprofit for women clergy to radically change policing in New York City. She is also the founder of Prophetic Whirlwind Ministries, a ministry dedicated to uncovering the African roots of the Bible, combating gender violence, and supporting African Jews. In April 2019, her first book, Prophetic Whirlwind: Uncovering the Black Biblical Destiny, focusing on her research of African and African-American Jews was published. In her former role as the Organizer for Bronx Connect, Apostle Onleilove helped to build an organizing and advocacy program that included court-involved youth and their allies. Results of her recent work at BronxConnect included the City Council’s vote to close Rikers Island, the passage of Renewable Riker’s legislation, and the founding of two coalitions: NY Faith Leaders for Criminal Justice Reform and the #Right2RemainSilent Coalition of 67 organizations throughout New York state.

 

Luke Bolton has been a member of the Baha’i Faith since 2009 and is currently serving as the Secretary of the Local Spiritual Assembly of New York City. Before accepting this position, he was a teacher for 9 years in New York City’s charter and public schools as well as teaching internationally in Zanzibar Tanzania. He has also spent the last 10 years serving as a mentor in the Junior Youth Spiritual Empowerment Program, supporting middle school age youth to develop the qualities and capacities to do service in their neighborhoods