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Prior to 1900, community responsibilities for public welfare were assumed by volunteers from various religious groups. However, with the development of the profession of social work in the 1920s, many city governments began to employ public welfare workers. The need for communication among the public and private organizations, professionals, and volunteers in Richmond led to the formation of the Richmond Council of Social Agencies in the early 1920s, and, subsequently, the Richmond Community Fund in 1924. Dr. Arthur Guild was the Executive Director of both groups. There was confusion between the new social work professionals and the church members who traditionally had been responsible for helping those in need. The Council of Social Agencies, along with the Richmond Ministerial Union, saw a need for understanding and cooperation between the religious community and the social agencies. To address this need, Rev. Dr. James C. Faw, a member of the Board of Directors for both agencies, turned to the women of the churches and synagogues who were already organized. A recommendation passed that a subcommittee of the Council be established. Dr. Faw and Dr. Guild assisted women from three faiths, Protestant, Catholic, and Jewish, to organize the Council of Church Women in 1929 as a sub-council of the Council of Social Agencies. This Council of Church Women was the first name of the Interfaith Council of Greater Richmond. Mrs. McLean Whittet became the first chairwoman. In 1940, the name of the Council of Church Women was changed to the Interfaith Council of the Richmond Area Church Women to avoid confusion with The Women's Council of Churches, an existing Protestant group. The purpose of the Interfaith Council was to study the health, welfare, and recreational needs of the Richmond community; to discuss those needs, suggesting appropriate action to the religious organizations; to interpret the social problems of the community to religious groups so that these groups and social agencies--both public and private--might coordinate their efforts against crime, poverty and disease. Dr. Guild served as liaison between the Council of Church Women and the Richmond Council of Social Agencies until 1937. In that year, Dr. Faw was employed as the Executive Secretary of the Richmond Council of Social Agencies and was assigned responsibility for serving as liaison between the Richmond Council and the Interfaith Council. He served as a devoted adviser to the women's group for approximately 18 years, authoring a beautiful interfaith prayer which was adopted as the pledge until 2001. The Interfaith Council works with other groups with similar objectives. In 1979 the Council accepted an invitation to affiliate with the National Conference of Christians and Jews (NCCJ) now known as the Virginia Center for Inclusive Communities (VCIC). Others who network with us include the Virginia Council of Churches (VCC), the Virginia Interfaith Center for Public Policy (1991-92), and the Council for America's First Freedom (CAFF) (1997). In 1998 the Interfaith Council became a member of the North American Interfaith Network (NAIN). VCIC and CAFF contributed to the program offerings at the NAINConnect 2007 hosted by ICGR. (See Affiliate page for more information.) In 1986, the Interfaith Council changed its name to the Interfaith Council of Greater Richmond (ICGR) to reflect the expansion of its membership. Since that time the Bahá'í, Buddhist, Eckankar, Hindu, Islam, Jain, Sikh, and Zoroastrian faiths became members of the Interfaith Council. The basic purpose of ICGR has remained the same over the years, but in 1991, a clarification was added to the statement of purpose: “The aim of the Council is not to worship together but to work together in cooperative community service among religious organizations in metropolitan Richmond.” A new logo was adopted in 1991--a circle formed by emblems from the member religious groups surrounding the earlier logo showing two clasped hands. A banner was designed for the front of the meeting hall, and the extended logo was incorporated into all printed materials. In June 1991, the Board provided for the extended membership by enacting the following guidelines:
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RESEARCH CONDUCTED BY:
REFERENCES: |
Mrs. Anne McKenney, ICGR President, 1971-1972 |
| ADDITIONS AND EDITING BY: |
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| President 2011-2012 – Mr. Malik Khan, Islam | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| For information, send Email to Malik Khan or Annette Khan |
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