Welcome to the fifth issue of In the Spirit, a monthly newsletter created to share news of the Charleston Interreligious Council (CIC) and other interfaith events held in metro Charleston, SC.
April 2020 : Issue 7
Resources for individuals and communities
CDC resources for communities
Plan, prepare, and respond to coronavirus disease 2019
The LCFB is fully operational and are working closely with partner agencies to serve our most vulnerable friends and neighbors who may be losing access to prepared meals and stocked food.
For more information, to volunteer and donate, please click
here.
East Cooper Community Outreach
ECCO is serving clients through food distribution from 10am to 2pm – Tuesday through Thursday.
To volunteer, donate and for more information click here.
Shifa Clinic: Mercy on Wheels
The ICNA Relief Shifa Clinic is providing hunger relief with your help and support.
To receive help, assist by donating or driving meals, please click here.
Tricounty Family Ministries
Tricounty Family Ministries is a non-denominational, non-profit providing food, clothing, medical care, counseling, job placement, shelter, financial assistance and vital services to the impoverished. We offer a safe, compassionate, and inviting place for all people in need.
To receive help, assist by donating or volunteering, please click
here.
Emergency Financial Assistance
The Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP) allows people in need to access food immediately through local food banks. Individuals or families with monthly income at or below 150% of the federal poverty level are eligible to get groceries through this program.
To learn more about this program or SNAP and to apply click
here.
Lowcountry Blessing Box Project
Blessing boxes are stocked with non-perishable food items, basic toiletries, baby supplies, and anything else that might be considered a blessing to someone who finds themselves in need.
Blessing Boxes are set up throughout the Lowcountry. To find out where to receive or to stock a box, click
here.
Enough Pie
As a network of residents, artists, businesses and activists, Enough Pie commits to shine a light on this area and unite through creative acts to hold ourselves, civic leaders and developers more accountable to equitable and just growth.
Kids can email Katie’s Krops to have a packet of vegetable seeds be delivered to their homes. Kids are encouraged to plant seeds and share their harvest with neighbors and those in need
The Charleston Interreligious Council is committed to informing the public about faith and community news in Charleston. During this very unusual time of social distancing this issue of
In the Spirit focuses on how faith communities are coping with the current COVID-19 situation and ways in which individuals and communities could assist in alleviating the economic and emotional strain felt by so many.
Below you will see articles and on the side bar please note the many ways you could receive assistance and ways you could get involved in helping others.
If you would like your story or outreach effort to be included in our next issue, please contact us at
info@CICouncil.org.
Follow your own Spirited Brunch route, supplemented by takeout from Charleston restaurants
This year's Spirited Brunch would have been held today, Sunday, April 26. Multiple faith communities were meant to open their doors for tours and to offer a taste of their favorite brunch foods. Of course those plans have changed with the current restrictions in place. Check out the article below n on how to still learn about and enjoy a self guided Spirited Brunch this year.
Since the start of the coronavirus outbreak, Jews have observed Passover and Christians have celebrated Easter; Muslims are readying for the start of Ramadan later this week. And in most cases, they’ve found ways to uphold the culinary dimensions of their important holidays, with iftars, Easter dinners and Seders taking place via video conference.
In other words, while religious followers this year have had to adjust their traditions to comply with public health measures, neither food nor faith has been shelved for the duration of the pandemic. To the contrary, many people ordered to stay home have found much-needed comfort in one or the other or both.
So it hardly seemed appropriate to do away with the fourth annual edition of Spirited Brunch, a self-guided snack tour of downtown Charleston’s prayerful spaces, jointly sponsored by The Post and Courier and the College of Charleston.... click here for more.
MOUNT PLEASANT, S.C. (WCSC) - The Shifa Free Clinic is located in Mount Pleasant but serves neighbors in need throughout the Lowcountry.
Dr. Reshma Kahn started the clinic eight years ago, and it has continued to serve people throughout the coronavirus pandemic.
The clinic offers medical services, food and diapers to people who are uninsured and people who live well below the poverty line...
In addition to those appointments, the Shifa Free Clinic makes home deliveries to about 60 families a day. One of the volunteers who helps with deliveries is Elijah Siegler.
“Once a week I come to the Shifa Clinic," Siegler said. “People need to eat no matter what the circumstances are...I do this because I know Dr. Khan’s work here. She’s kind of a hero in the community.”
Daily Lunch Distribution Organized in Charleston and North Charleston
Marsha Alterman and Sandra Brett are distributing bagged lunches to those who spend their days under Charleston's bridge overpasses, at bus stops, and in parks. We are seeing the incredible needs in our city first hand, as well as the smiles and gratitude of those folks we meet. We are SO grateful to the generous folks who have supported us with monetary donations and supplies!
Love your neighbor: Islam, Judaism and Christianity come together over COVID-19
The COVID-19 global pandemic requires an immediate, whole-of society approach to prevent the transmission of the virus. During this time of uncertainty, faith leaders such as ourselves have turned to our religious texts and theology to find comfort for the community and encourage safe practices.
We have seen fellow prominent faith leaders from Christianity, Judaism and Islam issuing opinions, guidance documents – and even fatwas – to their communities that re-analyse religious practices and provide theological opinions on how faith practices or rituals can be adapted to meet the response of COVID-19 and implement social distancing.... see more.
Here’s How You Can Change Lives in the Pandemic
These causes will make great use of your money or your time.
With so many people sick and dying and American unemployment at a level not reached since the Great Depression — and people in poor countries even worse off — readers want to address those needs.
This column is an answer to those queries. I’ve picked five organizations that are responding brilliantly to the coronavirus and have sound plans to expand their work if they can raise the cash.
Peace among religions is a precondition for world peace.--- Swami Agnivesh
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The Charleston Interreligious Council (formerly the Christian Jewish Council of Greater Charleston) is an organization that seeks to build bridges of understanding to promote sensitivity, tolerance, respect, and fellowship among religious groups.