ICGM Celebrates 40th Anniversary

The Interfaith Conference of Greater Milwaukee (ICGM) is turning 40 at the end of this month. To help celebrate this momentous occasion, a luncheon is being held on February 4, 2010. The conference’s anniversary celebrations will help kick off a year of events that “celebrate the past and envision the future”. The highlight of the luncheon will be keynote speaker David Beckmann, president of Bread for the World, a charity that aims to eliminate world hunger.

The ICGM is going all out for 2010 with a wide array of events being planned. 2010 events include: an Interfaith Day at Miller Park for a Brewers game, a photo and video DVD release of the ICGM’s history, a lecture/tour of the Dead Sea Scroll exhibit at the Milwaukee Public Museum, a collective effort to create an interfaith chapel at Mitchell International Airport, a presentation on Swami Vivekananda (founder of interfaith dialogue in America/national celebrity) at a Hindu Temple, and a Peace and International Issues Committee series featuring filmmaker/photographer Chip Duncan talking about his new book “Enough to Go Around: Searching for Hope in Afghanistan, Pakistan and Darfur”.Established in 1970 by the religious community, the ICGM is a non-profit interfaith agency that addresses social issues in the Greater Milwaukee area that affect the public’s quality of life. The ICGM strives to help the community based on the religious values of upholding the dignity and solidarity of every individual. The ICGM brings together individuals, congregations, and religious leaders to participate in interfaith dialogue and action to build an inclusive community. Issues that the ICGm addresses are poverty, hunger, homelessness, racism, health care, interfaith dialogue, education, global peace issues, international development, employment, crime and the criminal justice system, the environment, substance abuse, and the growing senior population.

One of the largest events the ICGM participates in is the CROP Hunger Walk. CROP stands for Communities Responding to Overcome Poverty. The annual walk brings together people of various faiths, ages, and cultures from over 2,000 communities accross the U.S. to Milwaukee to end world hunger. Participants can choose to walk either two or five and a half miles. What makes this hunger walk unique is that participants have the option of designating their donations to other approved international hunger-fighting agencies such as Catholic Relief Services, Heifer International, and Lutheran World Relief.

The ICGM is involved and runs a wide array of initiatives in the community. Along with five other organizations, the ICGM runs a shelter for women and families called The Cathedral Center. Other areas that the ICGM has programs in are: peace and international issues, restorative justice, policy advocacy, anti-racism work, and interfaith relations. The ICGM strives to provide the community with a platform to engage in interfaith and cross-cultural dialogue in the areas of interfaith relations and anti-racism work. Website: www.interfaithconference.org