IW, Community and Faith Leaders Reaffirm Commitment to Serve Together
About 112 community and faith leaders pledged continued partnership with Interfaith Works (IW) at the IW Annual Faith Community Meeting on November 1, 2022 at the Washington D.C. Temple Visitors' Center in Kensington, Maryland.
“IW has put faith into action to help most of our most vulnerable communities. I am honored to join them and other community champions to celebrate their extraordinary work,” United States Senator Chris Van Hollen said.
Montgomery County Executive Marc Elrich and County Council Vice President Evan Glass also spoke at the event, congratulating IW and its partners for their contributions to Montgomery County.
In addition, Courtney Hall, IW Chief Executive Officer, honored founding partners who came together in 1972 to create what is now known as Interfaith Works to provide shelter and meals in various communities.
“We have a rich history together. From the beginning until today, our shared commitment to serve has made it possible for us to meet the evolving needs of our neighbors, which now spans from emergency shelter, supportive housing, essential needs, to employment,” he said.
Reverend Timothy Warner of Emory Grove United Methodist Church, who was the keynote speaker of the event, encouraged IW and its partners to continue reaching out to other sectors in the community.
“Our presence here is a testimony that inter-faith actually does work,” he said, adding that the group’s achievements were rooted in building relationships.
“We understand that the work we do cannot be done by one sector alone. Collaboration is how we can make a difference,” Reverend Warner said.
Mr. Hall added that much of IW’s success in building pathways to stability were due to the strong culture of community in Montgomery County.
“In working together, our clients had 45,000 nights of safe shelter, 7,500 families accessed free clothes and home goods, 101 individuals found jobs, and 1,400 families were provided emergency and utility assistance,” Mr. Hall said, before highlighting that donations and volunteer support made possible the distribution of 1.85 million pounds of food—the bulk of which were given out at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Representatives of organizations and faith groups such as the Montgomery County Department of Health and Human Services, Community Reach of Montgomery County, Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, Seneca Community Church, St. Matthew Presbyterian Church, Islamic Community Center of Potomac, Kehilat Pardes Congregation—The Rock Creek Synagogue reiterated during their testimonials the call for deeper partnerships to sustain gains collectively achieved in the last years.
The evening also included musical performances by Mosaic Harmony. Ayesha Khan of WTTG-Fox 5 DC and Jim Stowe of the Montgomery County Office of Human Rights emceed at the event.
(Photos from the Office of County Executive Marc Elrich and Les Henig.)
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CONTACT
Reverend Dr. Rosetta Robinson
IW Director of Faith and Community Partnerships
rrobinson@iworksmc.org
(301) 315-1105
Ms. Soraya Ututalum
IW Communications Manager
(301) 851-1591