Betraying the Age...

Join the Story! (w/ special appeal)

Dear NY Faith & Justice Friends and Family, For the past two months, we have shared the stories of people who make up New York Faith & Justice. They are members, board members, partners, and friends. They are pastors, organizers, and ordinary people committed to an extra-ordinary vision... Thank you to all who shared their stories. You have enriched our lives and challenged us with your faith. Thank you to all who read the stories. More than any other NY Faith & Justice web-based campaign, this one struck a nerve. We hope you were inspired. We hope it moved you to look for ways to engage in your neighborhood, in your community, in your city. More than that, we hope you caught a glimpse of the vision. Think of the most vulnerable among us--the ones Jesus calls "the least of these." The single mother, the child without resources, the immigrant within our borders... What have you learned about the core lies our age tells us about the least of these? Remember the lies? The ideology of individualism. What I do only matters to me. I gotta get mine? Money = God. It demands that we sacrifice certain people on its altar. Here's another core lie our Faith Leaders for Environmental Justice team discerned during a recent meeting: 3. I buy therefore I am. And here's another core lie of our age discerned by a national gathering of Christian faith-rooted organizers during a recent gathering in Los Angeles: 4. "The other" is a threat to our well-being. What is the truth? What could it look like to betray the age's lies with truth in your life, in your neighborhood, in your city. What truth would God tell--what structures would God change to help "make things right" for children living under the threat of diabetes, heart disease, obesity, and asthma because of environmental injustice in their neighborhoods... for children like my niece, Luna? What systems would God change to help "make things right" so that communities could thrive and children in the South Bronx, Harlem, Central Brooklyn and South Queens could play freely in the streets with no fear of criminals or cops? So, that Conversations for Change are no longer necessary! What policies would God craft to help "make things right" for immigrants within our boarders. How would God handle the balance between law and grace? And what about "the mosque" and religious freedom? How would God lead us to treat our neighbors? By the way, if you missed yesterday's press conference call in support of the Park51 community center and mosque, you can click here to listen to the audio taped press call with national security experts and faith leaders. Many of you wrote to me over the past two months saying: "Please don't stop sending the stories! They're so inspiring." We won't. We will continue to live and tell our stories of everyday people exercising seeds of faith to move mountains in the city. And we want you to join the story! Join the Story! There are lots of ways you can join the story! Intern with us! We are now accepting applications for Fall 2010 - Spring 2011! Volunteer your expertise or resources! Check out the Faith Leaders for Environmental Justice or theConversations for Change Host an Immigration Reform House Party Become a Financial Partner with the movement! Our goal was to raise $25,000 in new and renewed members and financial partnerships to help make our work possible. We're still tallying the pledges and gifts. So far, you have given about $13,700 in memberships, pledges, and donation of services. It's not too late for you to join the story. Please consider digging deep to help us reach our goal. Your generous gift would help us secure an office space and would lay the foundation for all of our work throughout the next year. Betray the age! Contribute just $25, $50, $100, $300, $500, $1000 or more to the work of NY Faith & Justice. ***All who give just $10/mth or more through automatic electronic payments will receive a complimentary NY Faith & Justice T-Shirt!Don't forget to use the "Designation" box on the online giving page to indicate your size and let us know if you want a male or female cut. NOTE: T-Shirts will be mailed out throughout the month of September. NOTE: If you prefer not to give online you can send checks made payable to "FCNY/NY Faith & Justice" to: NY Faith & Justice c/o Partnership 475 Riverside Drive, Suite 500 New York, NY 10115 Thank you for your continued prayers and partnership and don't forget to follow us on , , the nyfj blog or the nyfj calendar for up to the minute action alerts, program changes, and details. Living the Story, Lisa Sharon Harper Co-founder and Executive Director New York Faith & Justice

Betray the Age...Week 6

Betraying the Age Dr. Sarah Sayeed...on Park51 a.k.a "the Mosque" (w/ special appeal)

Dear NY Faith & Justice Friends and Family, Meet Dr. Sarah Sayeed...on the Mosque and other things Interfaith... Dr. Sarah Sayeed is the president of Women in Islam, Inc, a woman's human rights and social justice organization. She is also a program director at the Interfaith Center of New York, an organization working to bring people of different religious traditions together to work on issues of shared concern in New York City. Sarah has been partnering with NY Faith & Justice since the establishment of the Faith Leaders for Environmental Justice in early 2008. Since then she and the Interfaith Center of New York have partnered with us on every major initiative, including Conversations for Change and Immigration Reform. Through her work with the Interfaith Center of New York, Dr. Sayeed educates religious leaders about the civic institutions around them. As president of Women in Islam, Inc, she educates interfaith and secular organizations on the issues pertinent to Islamic women today as well as the Muslim community on how to empower women within the Muslim faith tradition. Meet Dr. Sayeed... Lisa: With ten years of interfaith experience, what was your experience before NY Faith & Justice of partnering with Evangelical Christians? Sarah: None at all. I think partnering with NY Faith & Justice has been a great introduction into the Evangelical world. I do have to say that right before I met you, Lisa, I had read about a growing Evangelical movement for social justice. So, for me, that was an eye-opener because Evangelicals were portrayed in a certain way - hopefully that's changing now. So, it was a great introduction to work with NY Faith and Justice on so many issues. Lisa: Where do you see overlap in the values that you hold as a Muslim leader and an interfaith leader and those of the people in New York Faith & Justice? Sarah: I think it's really about looking around us, looking to see who our neighbors are. Who are the people we share the city with? I think all of our religious traditions call on us to be kind to our neighbors and to do the hard work together of what it will take to address the inequalities and injustices that we see on a daily basis. Lisa: The Park 51 Islamic Community Center has gotten a lot of heat since President Obama spoke out to support the right of the Muslim community to build it. Now it seems to fill every news cycle. What do you think of that? Are you connected with the people behind the Center? Sarah: Imam Feisal Abdul-Rauf is one of the people behind the Cultural Center project. He is also on the board of the Interfaith Center. Lisa: The details of the Community Center aren't very clear. Can you shed some light on that for us? Sarah: There has been a viable Muslim community in Lower Manhattan for decades now. There has been a mosque on Warren Street, four blocks from the World Trade Center site, for many many years. My dad used to go there for prayers when I was a little kid. A lot of the Muslim people who work at City Hall or in the financial district would go to that mosque. So, having a Muslim institution in that area is not a new thing. The Warren Street Mosque lost its lease and had to find a new location. Some people in that community came together and were able to purchase the building on Park Place and West Broadway, where the Islamic Community Center is now proposed; two blocks closer to Ground Zero. The people in the purchasing community partnered with Imam Feisal Adul-Rauf, who had another mosque in Tribecca--also close to Ground Zero. Their vision included a full-blown community center that serves the wider community, not just the Muslim community. It's conceived in the tradition of the YMCA, with a pool, a place for seniors to congregate, a place for the arts and a multi-faith chapel and prayer space. So, it's really a cultural center that is being built by a group of Muslims. They're also talking about having an interfaith advisory group to help shape the work in the building. So, I think there's been every effort to be inclusive. Knowing all that information, it's disappointing to hear all the rhetoric. Lisa: Did you hear about Governor Patterson's decision to go to the Center's developers and negotiate with them to move to another location? What do you think about that? Sarah: I think he's trying to be respectful of the families who are expressing their sense of grief over their loss. I can empathize with feelings of grief. I guess what I have trouble with is when you take grieving to the next step of fear of anything that's Muslim. And then to go to the next step and translate that fear into policy that impacts people doesn't resonate with the values of our country. Also, 9/11 families are grieving and I feel like, as a Muslim, I'm being told I have no right to grieve. Lisa: What can people of other faiths do to help? Sarah: What we can all do, as people who elected our leaders into office, is to remind them about what the real issues are that our country needs to address and remind them of the things that unite us as Americans. And we can also remind them of the values that we share as Americans; like having respect for difference and freedom of religion. It's also important to support the Community Center. Learn about what the center is trying to do. Try and think critically about what the media is telling us about the issue. For more info on the Park 51 Cultural Center go to http://www.park51.org/vision.htm. New York Faith and Justice is committed to ending poverty in New York. Approval of Park 51 is not an issue of poverty, but every once in a while an issue comes along that is so important that we all must take heed and engage. The issue of the placement of the Islamic Cultural Center in New York City will be a defining moment in the life of our nation as we decide how we shall interpret the First Amendment's "free exercise of religion" clause. Already, cities across the country are beginning to stop the construction of mosques on private and public property. These are our times. This is our responsibility. Join us. Read the Bill of Rights. It's actually a pretty cool read!Decide what you think about the "free exercise of religion clause." Read the Faith in Public Life statement in support of the Cultural Center. NY Faith & Justice signed on! Sign on to Faithful America's letter in support of the Cultural Center! Write a letter to the editor or an Op-ed for your local paper or a high-traffic blog. I submitted a piece to the Huffington Post which was posted on Friday! Read it here! Finally, there's one more important way you can help betray the lies of our age. Become a member, renew your membership, or a become a financial partner with NY Faith & Justice. NY Faith & Justice only has ONE WEEK LEFT to raise $25,000 in new and renewed members and financial partnerships to help make our work possible. So far, you have given about $500. THERE IS STILL TIME! If each person who opened this email just gave $25 we would reach our goal! And get this! Recently, we were presented with the opportunity to secure NYC office space in our own name, and all it would take is $6000 for the year! Plus, a web designer/filmmaker recently offered to upgrade and redesign our website and contract with us to manage and maintain all communications projects at the severely reduced fee of $12,200for the first year and about half of that for each year after that. That is unheard of! Your generous contribution will help provide a solid base from which a vibrant effective anti-poverty movement can grow. Please contribute now. Anyone who gives $50 or more in the course of a year is a member. If you haven't renewed your membership, now is the time. If you've been waiting to give, right now is the time! Betray the age and contribute just $25, $50, $100, $300, $500, $1000 or more to the work of NY Faith & Justice. ***All who give just $10/mth or more through automatic electronic payments will receive a complimentary NY Faith & Justice T-Shirt! Don't forget to use the "Designation" box on the online giving page to indicate your size and let us know if you want a male or female cut. NOTE: If you prefer not to give online you can send checks made payable to "FCNY/NY Faith & Justice" to: NY Faith & Justice c/o Partnership 475 Riverside Drive, Suite 500 New York, NY 10115 Thank you for your continued prayers and partnership and don't forget to follow us on , , the nyfj blog or the nyfj calendar for up to the minute action alerts, program changes, and details. Engage, Lisa Sharon Harper Co-founder and Executive Director New York Faith & Justice

Betray the Age...Week 5

Betraying the Age Samantha...in her own words (w/ special appeal)

Dear NY Faith & Justice Friends and Family, Meet Samantha...In Her Own Words Samantha McLane Alejos is an immigrant from Mexico. She has been in the United States for three years. For the past year he has worked in the New York office of Bread for the World, an organization that advocates for hungry people. Bread is also organizational partner with NY Faith & Justice. I met Samantha at the July 2009 Bread for the World National Gathering in Washington DC. After I spoke on Hunger and Biblical Peace, Samantha came up to let me know she was moved and wanted to know how she could get involved with NYFJ back in NYC. Samantha started as a volunteer in our Food Justice work, but within months transitioned into the leader of our Immigration Reform initiatives. Meet Samantha... Lisa: After months of working with NYFJ on food justice, you approached me and asked to work on Immigration Reform. What motivated you to focus on Immigration, in particular? Samantha: I am an immigrant. So, I am directly affected by the issue. I am here legally, but I know people who are suffering under the current broken system. I came here with my husband to seek opportunity. There are others who do not have the same opportunity as me and it is not right. They are not fairly judged. They are not fairly treated. Immigration is just part of people's development. Some people decide to migrate. Some people decide not to. America exports its culture to Mexico through products and media, but then when we want to come, they say, "Oh, no." People don't choose the level of opportunities they have. Systems do that for them. In Mexico, we don't have the same options and I don't think that's fair. You need to provide for yourself and your family a job, a house, an education, food. If you can not do that in your own place, you are free and able to move to a different city, state, or to a different country. When you can not feed your children, there is no decision there. You just have to move. It is necessity. So, when people choose to migrate it is to seek better opportunities. But if an immigration system is not well constructed, you are cutting off the ability of people to use their skills, knowledge, and talents. When we move here, we contribute in many ways; by working, paying taxes, and developing the region. Everyone is affected by this. I know a couple who has been here for 8 years. They learned English and are working contributors to the U.S. economy, but they have not seen their family in Mexico for 8 years because they are afraid they will be deported or not allowed back in the country. This is complicated by the fact that they have two children now. Lisa: What do you say to people who would say, "Yeah, but they broke the law. Law-breakers should be afraid. They should be fearful of being deported at any minute because they are hereillegally." What do you say to that? Samantha: Sometimes laws do not correspond with reality or morality. It's not like they broke the law because they wanted to. It is because it is the only thing to do when you are running from poverty, when you are running from hunger. So, when the law denies an opportunity to eat, to have an education, to have a job, then it is an immoral law. If they say that, I would say, "What kind of laws are we making?" March 2010 was NY Faith & Justice Immigration Reform Month. Samantha's House Party Tool-kits were downloaded and used by communities across NYC and across the country. Recently, there has been a storm of activity in the Immigration Reform debate. We've updated the kits to address the situation as it is right now. Join us. There are lots of ways you can do one small act today: Download Immigration House Party Toolkit Today.Contact Samantha at smclane@nfyaithjustice.org to get the Jeopardy Game sent to you via email. Sojourners just unveiled it's Summer Movie Guide "REEL Images of Immigration Reform". One of the films they feature, The Visitor, was inspired by the detention center visitation ministry at The Riverside Church, an organizational partner of NY Faith & Justice! New Yorkers of faith, it's time to voice your opinion on the Cordoba House controversy. If you don't, Sarah Palin and Rush Limbaugh will gladly do it for you. World Magazine recently and asked for my opinion. Check it out! Tune in on the radio to hear me spread the word about the need for Comprehensive Immigration Reform TODAY (8/12/10) @ 11:30am on KWWJ-AM (Houston, TX) and Next Thursday (8/19/10) @ 5:20pm on KJSL-AM (St. Louis, MO). Finally, there's one more important way you can help betray the lies of our age. Become a member, renew your membership, or a become a financial partner with NY Faith & Justice. NY Faith & Justice only has two weeks left to raise $25,000 in new and renewed individual financial partnerships to helpmake our work possible. Recently, we were presented with the opportunity to secure NYC office space in our own name, and all it would take is $6000 for the year! Your generous contribution would help provide a base from which to grow the movement for years to come. Please contribute now. Plus, anyone who gives $50 or more in the course of a year is a member. If you haven't renewed your membership, now is the time. If you've been waiting to give, right now is the time! Betray the age and contribute just $50, $100, $300, $500, $1000 or more to the work of NY Faith & Justice. ***All who give just $10/mth or more through automatic electronic payments will receive a complimentary NY Faith & Justice T-Shirt! Don't forget to use the "Designation" box on the online giving page to indicate your size and let us know if you want a male or female cut. NOTE: If you prefer not to give online you can send checks made payable to "FCNY/NY Faith & Justice" to: NY Faith & Justice c/o Partnership 475 Riverside Drive, Suite 500 New York, NY 10115 Thank you for your continued prayers and partnership and don't forget to follow us on , , the nyfj blog or the nyfj calendar for up to the minute action alerts, program changes, and details. Engage, Lisa Sharon Harper Co-founder and Executive Director New York Faith & Justice

Betray the Age...Week 4

Betray the Age Meet Luna August 2010 (w/ special appeal)

Dear NY Faith & Justice Friends and Family, Meet Luna. On one of the hottest days in July 2010, Luna enjoyed a beautiful day photo by Sharon L. Harper with fresh air, open space, and the kind of discoveries reserved for three-year-olds. It was the first time she ever went to the beach and her only care in the world was whether the seagulls would steal her lunch. Luna lives on the edge of the Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York, the predominately African-American home to Spike Lee's cinematic masterpiece, Do the Right Thing. According to the NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, Bed-Stuy is also home to particularly brutal economic and health disparities. Luna is 2.8 times more likely to experience a diabetes hospitalization and 2.3 times more likely to die from the disease than her cousins who live a few short miles away in the mostly white affluent community of Tribeca in Manhattan. Luna's father, who grew up in the deeply impoverished East New York community of Brooklyn has already contracted the disease. To boot, back home in Bed-Stuy, over 70% of Luna's African-American and Latino playground friends will be overweight or obese as adults. This puts them at greater risk of heart disease than children in more affluent areas. Plus, all children from 0-4 years of age in New York City are 1.6 times more likely to be hospitalized because of asthma than their peers across the United States. Yet, because Luna lives in a low-income neighborhood of New York City, she and her 0-4 year old friends are more than 4 times more likely to experience an asthma hospitalization than children their age who live in the high-income Upper West Side neighborhood of Manhattan. By the time Luna's generation reaches the age of 15 the gap will yawn. She and her friends will be 6.4 times more likely to experience an asthma hospitalization than their counterparts in affluent zip codes in New York City. Luna's father has asthma. Luna is my niece. My sister and brother-in-law agreed to share Luna's story with you because they know her forecast is not unique to their family or to residents of Bed-Stuy. Bed-Stuy is one of several neighborhoods in a major geographic area called Central Brooklyn. Central Brooklyn is one of four major geographic areas in New York City identified as official "food deserts" and areas of deep health disparity. These areas include Central Brooklyn, South Queens, Northern Manhattan, and the South Bronx. Heart disease, asthma, and diabetes are more prevalent in these under-resourced Latino and black communities than anywhere else in our city. That's why NY Faith & Justice and Faith Leaders for Environmental Justice are partnering with more than 20 other organizations, churches, and government representatives to convene the Food Faith and Health Disparities Summit, October 29-30, 2010, Location TBA. Save the date now! What does it look like to betray the age in NYC? Say, "No more!" to health disparities in our city. Then pitch in and help close the gap! Sign up to be a Food Faith and Health Disparities Summit small group facilitator! Sign up to help with faith community outreach for the Summit! Donate services like printing, catering, facility space. Donate $50, $100, $300, or $500 to help support the Food Faith and Health Disparities Summit and follow up working groups! Click on the links above or contact Stephen Tickner atstickner@nyfaithjustice.org or 212.870.1254 for more information on ways you can help close the health gap in NYC. Plus, right now NY Faith & Justice is working to raise $25,000 in new and renewed financial partnerships. Contributions from people like you make the Faith Leaders for Environmental Justice, Conversations for Change, and all of our work on Immigration Reform possible. If you haven't renewed your membership, now is the time. If you've been waiting to partner with us, please make the connection today. It's super easy to partner. You can contribute as little as $5/mth, $10/mth, $25/mth, $50/mth, $100/mth or more. Think about it. $5 in a month is just one random stop at Starbucks. $10 is less than a movie. $25 is just one random cab ride (in traffic). $50 per month is an iPad. $100 per month is a shoe fettish. Come on. Do you need it? Okay so it's hard to let go of the iPad. But, really, do you need an iPad as much as the children of Bed-Stuy need more fresh food supermarkets in their neighborhoods to combat crazy diabetes rates? ***All who give $10/mth or more will receive a complimentary NY Faith & Justice T-Shirt! Don't forget to use the "Designation" box on the online giving page to indicate your size and let us know if you want a male or female cut. NOTE: If you prefer not to give online you can send checks made payable to "FCNY/NY Faith & Justice" to: NY Faith & Justice c/o Partnership 475 Riverside Drive, Suite 500 New York, NY 10115 Here are a few more awesome ways you can betray the age right where you are! Check out this excellent report on the Diabetes gap in New York City Learn more about the Asthma gap, too! Save the Date: The Bronx Borough Police/Community Conversations for Change Summit. Thank you for your continued prayers and partnership and don't forget to follow us on , , the nyfj blog or the nyfj calendar for up to the minute action alerts, program changes, and details. Betraying the Age, Lisa Sharon Harper Co-founder and Executive Director New York Faith & Justice