Our goal is to create a beloved community and this will require a qualitative change in our soul as well as a quantitative change in our lives.
-Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
Faith in New York is a multi-faith grassroots citywide network of congregations and people of faith committed to the work of justice, community transformation, and liberation through faith-based community organizing, policy change, and movement building for all New Yorkers. Faith in New York is an affiliate of Faith in Action (formerly PICO National Network), the largest faith-based community organization in the country.
Our Vision: To build the Beloved City here in New York City by bringing together a multi-faith, multi-issue, base of members who ensure that New York City remains a place of sanctuary for all, regardless of race, class, age, or other identity.
Our Theory of Change: We believe that when people of faith come together in teams in our houses of worship and communities to dream, discern, learn, and act together, prophetic change happens. We believe that powerful relationships - with clergy, congregants, and community members and groups - drive our work, and that is through those relationships that we change policy, build power, listen deeply to each other, and bring forth the divine.
Our Organizational Pillars: Leadership Development and Training, Community Education, Community-led Research, Public Action
Our Areas of Work: Civic Engagement (Rise and Vote), Immigration (Faith for Liberation), Restorative Justice (Live Free), Youth Organizing, Economic Dignity
Our Organizing: Faith in New York engages thousands of faith and community members every year through personal conversations, training’s, and research meetings to identify the priorities of the community and engage hundreds in seeking innovative solutions to New York City's most pressing challenges. Our organizers build and develop congregants to create social justice ministries (or teams, committees, etc.) which then become a part of the life of a congregation and lead the organizing within their house of worship.
Through leadership training, teams are equipped it the tools and knowledge to identify key community issues to develop campaigns through engaging in deep community listening, research, public action, and evaluation their campaigns in order to better learn together, understand power, and dismantle systemic violence and oppression. Through this work, we create tangible community change.
We believe that powerful relationships – with clergy, congregants, and community members and groups – drive our work, and that is through those relationships that we change policy, build power, listen deeply to each other, and bring forth the divine. We believe that when people of faith come together in teams in our houses of worship to dream, discern, learn, and act together, prophetic change happens.
Our History: Faith in New York was founded in 2013 out of the work of Queens Congregations United for Action (founded in 2004) and Brooklyn Congregations United (BCU). Our members came together in the wake of Hurricane Sandy to advocate for citywide policies that would rebuild Sandy-affected areas for residents who were most directly impacted - particular low-income New Yorkers and people of color. In order to move citywide policy on the issues that affect us - not only Hurricane Sandy but interlinked issues like affordable housing and gentrification, good jobs and a just economy, mass incarceration and police brutality, immigration reform, and voting rights, our members realized we needed to be a citywide force of people of faith for equity and justice.
In March 2013, QCUA's core clergy leadership voted to transition into a citywide structure that communicates a bold, prophetic vision for change across New York City (including but not limited to Queens) and allow the organization to grow relationships in the other 4 boroughs. Clergy adopted the name "Faith in New York" for this new organization. Faith in New York's mission is to develop grassroots leaders and equip congregations to move significant public policy change that supports our leaders’ vision of a more just New York with excellent public schools, violence-free neighborhoods, access to good jobs, adequate and affordable health care, decent housing for all, and a place where people of all backgrounds can fully participate in economic and civic life. Faith in New York operates in low income, working class communities that are 70% immigrant and over 85% people of color.