About Us

Serving Jewish-Christian families, the Interfaith Community spans the range of those who by birth, by choice, or by chance find that their personal and family lives are intertwined with those of other faiths. The Community helps interfaith couples and families address their spiritual and communal needs, and offers a safe and neutral space for them to:

explore the role of religion in their
lives as individuals and as a family;

learn more about their own traditions
and those of their partner;

introduce children to the basic elements
of both Jewish and Christian traditions;

celebrate and honor the meaning
of major holidays;

become part of a community that is
vibrant, growing, diverse and multi-
generational, made up of others who
also share dual traditions.

As an independent voice and an affirming community for interfaith families, we honor the distinctiveness of both Judaism and Christianity and support individuals as they pursue their own course, at their own level of involvement. We encourage families to find the religious balance that is right for them, and provide them with the resources they need to achieve this balance with respect and understanding. We do not aim to create a new amalgam or to discourage affiliation with a church or synagogue; rather, we are a neutral place for interfaith families to connect.

The Interfaith Community is a non-profit, member-led organization. It has a formal curriculum for children K-5, with plans to expand to serve both younger and older children, as well as to include a curriculum for adults; it offers a professional counseling workshop series for interfaith couples; it provides holiday services and celebrations for major Jewish and Christian holidays; and it operates in five different chapter settings in the New York metropolitan area and in Denver, Colorado.

The organization was established informally in 1987 by a group of parents with children attending the Manhattan-based Trinity School, an independent day school with an Episcopal tradition. The primary co-founders were Lee F. Gruzen (an Episcopalian married to a Jewish man) and Sheila C. Gordon (a Conservative Jew, married to an Episcopalian man). At the time, Gruzen was involved in researching what would become the seminal interfaith book Raising Your Jewish/Christian Child (1987, revised edition 2001). Gordon was a community college dean. The program they created endured and has evolved into today's Interfaith Community. Sheila Gordon now serves as president and executive director of the organization.

CHRONOLOGY

January 1987: Interfaith religious education program organized by parents at Trinity School (NYC).
Spring 1987: First classes provided to twelve 6th graders, team taught by a rabbi and a minister. Classes offered to children in grades 3 - 8 through 1990.
Fall 1990: First holiday services held.
January 2001: Office space acquired in the Inter-Church Center (NYC).
Summer 2001: Web site and graphics created. Formal membership structure inaugurated.
Spring 2002: Parent committee for children's curriculum created.
Spring 2002: Professional interfaith couples workshops offered.
Spring 2003: Interfaith Community, Inc. formally incorporated as a nonprofit organization.
Fall 2003: New chapters launched in Westchester and Orange/Rockland Counties (NY), and in Denver, Colorado.
Fall 2003: New curriculum designed by consultants from Union and Jewish Theological Seminaries.
February 2004: New curriculum for 4th graders piloted in NYC (and tested in Denver in Fall 2005 and Westchester in Spring 2005).
Spring 2004: Couples workshop redesigned.
February 2005: New curriculum for 5th graders piloted.
Fall 2005: Long Island chapter launched.
2005-06: New curriculum for grades K-3 piloted in all NY area chapters.
2006-07: New curriculum for toddlers piloted.
2007-08: New curriculum on ethical values piloted in all chapters.
2008-09: New curriculum on identity and transitions for teenagers piloted.

Leadership & Staff

The Interfaith Community is led through the commitment of its member-volunteers:

President: Dr. Sheila C. Gordon

Board of Directors
Sheila C. Gordon, President
Lee F. Gruzen, Vice President
Anne Atkinson, Secretary
Robin Anthony Elliott, Treasurer
Nehama Benmoshe
David S. Miller
Benjamin Segal

Staff
Program Coordinator: Laura Morrison
Program Assistant: Erin Keys
Senior Educational Consultant: Clay Dockery
Teacher Liaison: Stacy Weinberg

Chapter Leadership
Westchester: Ruby Engel
Orange/Rockland: Soraya Meyers
Long Island: Pam Gawley & Sarah Cirker
Denver: Melissa Yanover & Jued Wurzbach
Boston: Kate Hornstein & Andy Brody
Danbury: Ali Haffner & Karen Muller

Religious Teachers and Advisors
Our national advisory board includes leading Christian and Jewish educators and theologians. We are headquartered in the Inter-Church Center on Morningside Heights, with its great density of seminaries and religious organizations. We have strong relationships with faculty and students at both the Jewish Theological Seminary and Union Theological Seminary. We also have a growing roster of advisers and educators that includes nationally known clergy and religious scholars. Through our Denver chapter, we also have strong connections to the Iliff School of Theology.

Deacon Kenneth Arnold Prof. Mary C. Boys, SNJM Rabbi Daniel Brenner Rabbi Marcelo Bronstein Rev. Robert Brashear Rev. Anne L. Conroy Rabbi Lavey Derby Prof. Celia Deutsch NDS Rev. Joel A. Gibson Rabbi Sam Gordon Fr. Mark C. Hallinan, S.J. Rev. Daniel Heischman

Rev. Charles Henderson Rabbi Brad Hirschfield Prof. Carol Ingall Rev. Kay Karpen Dr. Katherine Kurs Rev. Michael Lindvall Prof. Egon Mayer (of blessed memory) Rev. Timothy Morehouse Steve and Cokie Roberts Rev. Richard Spalding Rev. Katherine Turpin