New Interfaith Group Sets Founding Convention For Jan. 25
 Wendy Krom, lead organizer of Berkshire Interfaith Organizing, speaks about the new group with fellow member Sam Smith during a Northern Berkshire Interfaith Action Initiative meeting in December. |
NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — "Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their toil."
In the spirit of Ecclesiastes 4:9, an interfaith group of clergy, lay leaders and their congregations has banded together to form an organization called Berkshire Interfaith Organizing, or BIO. The group will hold a founding convention from 1 to 3 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 25, at St. Mark's School on Columbus Avenue in Pittsfield. In the event of snow, the convention will be held from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Monday, Jan. 26.
At the December meeting of the Northern Berkshire Interfaith Action Initiative, BIO lead organizer Wendy Krom explained the genesis of the organization and what its goals were to the small group of clergy and other interested residents in attendance.
"It was birthed from Northern Berkshire Community Coalition," said Krom, who used to work with the coalition's Northern Berkshire Neighbors program.
While with the Neighbors program, she said, she often heard questions about faith-based organizing, so she began to research it, eventually landing a seed grant to pay her time to "start the conversation," she said. Originally envisioning the group to serve Northern Berkshire County, Krom quickly realized when speaking to similar organizations in Massachusetts that she should consider a larger geographic area to be able to sustain the group.
Thus was born the Berkshire Organizing Project, which recently was renamed "Berkshire Interfaith Organizing," both to reflect the spiritual nature of the group and its plans to be an ongoing force.
"It sounded like an interim type of thing. We're building something very special here in Berkshire County," Krom said, explaining the use of the word "organizing" as opposed to "organization." "It's active as opposed to being in one place."
The basic idea is to create a group that can take steps together as a powerful Berkshire congregation-based organization to focus on issues of importance to the community. Twelve founding members began the group, with 15 more peripherally involved; all were Christian until Congregation Knesset Israel voted to join as well.
Other congregations are considering joining as well, Krom said, which will add to the voices hearing about problems and brainstorming solutions.
"It's about personal story. It's about relationship-building through conversation," Krom said. "The conversation is where the issues arise."
The issues that have been targeted by the 65 people actively involved over the last year and a half are hunger/food insecurity and transportation. Research teams were formed to further investigate these two issues to see how a faith-based group can help.
Krom and fellow BIO member Sam Smith talked about some of the ideas the group has had regarding those two issues — a fifth food bank to serve just the Berkshires, a mobile food pantry, to give just two examples — and ended the presentation with how they believe BIO can have a powerful presence in the community.
"It's not about providing direct services. It's not about advocating for people within the current system," Krom said. "It's about making systematic change."
Al Bashevkin, Krom's former boss at the coalition, said he was happy to see this new addition take wing from conversations within his own agency years ago.
"It's really encouraging and exciting to see the progress you've made," he said. "This will complement all the other stuff going on in the county."
For more information on Berkshire Interfaith Organizing, email berkshires.organizing@gmail.com or call Krom at 413-464-1804.
Tags: church, food bank, NBCC, Northern Berkshire Community Coalition, religion, transportation,
