New York ChapterNew York Chapter Annual Report 2015-16 OfficersPresident — Linda Bloom Vice President, Programs — Mary Dickey Vice President, Membership — Christie House Treasurer — Shirley Struchen Upcoming meetingsTBA
Follow the New York Chapter on social mediaNY Chapter Audio/Video Archives NY experiencing “growth in religious expression” Tony Carnes tells NY ChapterBy Linda Unger
Tony Carnes at RCC New York Chapter meeting. Photos by Ryan John Koch. During its February meeting, the New York chapter hosted Tony Carnes, editor and publisher of the web-based A Journey through NYC Religions. The meeting was held at the offices of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, which will be one of the venues for RCC’s upcoming 2016 Convention. Journey is devoted to exploring religious life in every pocket of New York City. A small team of up to four people sets out regularly to any given neighborhood or district across the city’s five boroughs: Brooklyn, Manhattan, Queens, Staten Island, and the Bronx. There they identify houses of worship, interview members and leaders, and record celebrations and events. In 2015, Journey posted 159 articles and 60 videos based on these neighborhood visits. Carnes said Journey has had more than 31 million views in five years and currently gets about 900,000 views per month. He attributed the interest to what he described as the rapid growth of religion in New York City and the great “media opportunity” that growth affords. Faith influence at Paris climate summit
The Rev. Pat Watkins talks about faith-based efforts on climate change and the U.N. summit in Paris with members and guests of the New York RCC chapter during a Jan. 12 lunch at the Episcopal Center in Manhattan. Photo by Bud Heckman. By Linda Bloom, RCC New York Chapter President In his September address to the United Nations, Pope Francis noted that harm done to the environment is “harm done to humanity.” Those who suffer the most, the Pope said, are the poor and marginalized. The motivation for many faith groups to go to the Nov. 30 - Dec. 11 United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change – popularly known as COP21 – was to remind leaders of 195 countries of that fact and particularly to address the immediate needs of poor countries most severely affected by extreme weather. Two speakers led a conversation about “The Faithful in Paris: Religious Advocacy During and After the Climate Summit” during the Jan. 12 meeting of the New York Chapter of Religion Communicators Council. NYC Chapter focuses on ‘Building a Better Blog’By Linda Bloom, RCC New York Chapter President
Panelists discussed “Building a Better Blog” with the RCC New York Chapter during a Sept. 22 meeting at the Interchurch Center. To be a successful blogger, you have to tweak the writing process to improve interaction with an online readership, a panel of communicators told the New York Chapter of Religion Communicators Council. “As writers, we like figures of speech, but search engines don’t like figures of speech, they like direct speech,” explained David Tereshchuk, a journalist and contributing correspondent for PBS' Religion and Ethics Newsweekly. Objectivity is not a requirement. The Rev. Jennifer Crumpton, who writes a blog directed at women of faith called femmevangelical, said that offering a strong point of view helps attracts followers. “I also find that the more political I get, the more my readership grows,” she added. May meeting: Allen W. Palmer on “Media and Religion: People of the Book”
Allen Palmer presenting to New York Chapter meeting and luncheon. Christians, Jews and Muslims all share common religious roots. The New York Chapter of Religion Communicators Council met with Allen W. Palmer in May to explore those roots with his multimedia presentation, “Media and Religion: People of the Book.” A university professor for more than 35 years, Palmer’s academic work has focused on international communication, mass media and society, and the cultural history of communication. He is a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Palmer was the Cardin Chair of Judeo-Christian Studies at Loyola University in Baltimore, Maryland; Director of International Media Studies in the Communications Department, Brigham Young University, Provo, Utah; Division Head for the International Association of Media & Communication Research; visiting Fulbright professor in Kyrgyz Republic and Namibia and visiting professor in Benin, Mauritius and the Philippines. He is an advisory board member for numerous journals and academic publishers. Panel reveals its Twitter tips to New York ChapterBy Linda Bloom, RCC New York Chapter President
A New York Chapter panel discussion on Twitter. When the Presbyterian Church USA recently voted in favor of expanding the denomination’s definition of marriage, Jaweed Kaleem, The Huffington Post's senior religion reporter, was able to track exactly when the deciding votes were cast because he was monitoring a specific hashtag on Twitter. It would be impossible for Kaleem to read everything in his Twitter feed – he follows nearly 3,000 accounts – but he keeps Twitter on “in the background” during the work day and checks his feed on his phone periodically. He keeps locked lists on Twitter, which only he can access, on people or topics to check for story development. An information-gathering tool, a platform for action, a branding opportunity, a gossip meter – Twitter is a social media phenomenon that can be many things to many people. But how to best use it? Making LinkedIn work for youBy Linda Bloom, RCC New York Chapter President
More than 20 participants brought laptops, tablets and smartphones to the workshop setting at the Church World Service conference room in the Interchurch Center. Ryan offered practical advice on how to craft a LinkedIn profile which, he said, should read like a conversation rather than a résumé. "Give the Internet a Soul," meeting with Elizabeth Scalia, managing editor of Patheos.com
The group gathered at Opus Dei on East 34th. Ms. Scalia talked about her Catholicism as a "terrible beauty of a life." And that Patheos features Catholic bloggers with many perspectives. She discussed her book, "Strange Gods: Unmasking the Idols in Everyday Life" The blogger of the Anchoress critiqued the "gods" of the internet and social media as shrines to one's self and an "echo chamber." Despite the internet's "evil," Ms. Scalia found comfort in Pope Benedict's dictate to "give the internet a soul."
Interfaith Disaster Panel (from left): Peter Gudaitis, NYDIS; Lesley Crosson, CWS; Francesco Paganini, UMCOR; Larry Peterson, LDS (photo by Tara Barnes) Getting the story out is key element of faith-based disaster responseBy Linda Bloom, RCC New York Chapter President Can faith-based organizations fundraise for disaster response without sensationalizing or stereotyping? Is it possible to explain the complexities of a disaster to donors? Does the public realize the depth of experience that faith groups have in long-term recovery? Those were some of the issues raised during a March 19 program on "Communicating in Times of Disaster," hosted by the RCC New York Chapter at the Interchurch Center, popularly known as "475" for its address on Riverside Drive in Manhattan.
Father Dave and RCC President Jay Rollins share a laugh at Thursday's luncheon. (photo by M.B. Coudal) "Begin at the ground up" to reach young people says Father Dave Dwyer to New York chapterFather Dave Dwyer, CSP, of Busted Halo, delivered a thought-provoking presentation at the February New York Chapter meeting on how religious groups can best reach young people. He talked about the vast differences between generations. Whereas in our grandparents' and parents' days, people were religious and not spiritual, today, the opposite is true. People are less loyal to religious organizations. Father Dave said, "It works the other way too, organizations are less loyal to individuals."
Sara Michaels and Sarah Pulliam Bailey share a laugh at the November NYC meeting. NY chapter learns about Religion News ServiceThanks for joining us on Tuesday, November 19, for our luncheon meeting with Sarah Pulliam Bailey, national correspondent for Religion News Service. Religion News Service is a news agency reporting on religion, ethics, spirituality and moral issues. Before joining RNS, Bailey was managing editor for Odyssey Networks, covering religion through multimedia. She previously spent four years as online editor for Christianity Today. Her articles have appeared in The Wall Street Journal, USA Today, CNN and the Chicago Sun-Times, and have won awards from the Religion Newswriters Association and the Evangelical Christian Publishers Association. Our lunch meeting took place at the Mormon Temple Building, third floor, 125 Columbus Avenue (and 65th Street). Video and Audio Archive of Past RCC New York Chapter MeetingsJohn P. Blessington and Liz Kineke
Listen to MP3 audio of John P. Blessington and Liz Kineke Arnold Labaton
Listen to MP3 of Arnold Labaton. Rosanna Scotto
Listen to MP3 audio of Rosanna Scotto or watch videos below. Tom Ehrich
Listen to MP3 audio of Tom Ehrich or watch videos below. Your Church and Social Media, Part 1 with Tom Ehrich. Your Church and Social Media, Part 2 with Tom Ehrich. Deacon Greg Kandra
Listen to MP3 audio of Deacon Greg Kandra Paul Raushenbush
Listen to MP3 audio of Paul Raushenbush. Joshua M. Greene and Shiva Kumar
Listen to MP3 audio of Shiva Kumar and Joshua M. Greene or watch video. Joshua M. Greene is an Emmy-Award nominated filmmaker and author of several bestselling books on faith and religion. Shiva Kumar, an awardwinning media producer and director, has worked in commercial and corporate filmmaking for over 20 years. Shiva offers tips on how to incorporate video to deliver your message. Terry Mattingly
Terry directs the Washington Journalism Center at the Council for Christian Colleges and Universities and writes a weekly column for the Scripps Howard News Service. He also leads the GetReligion.org website that critiques the mainstream media's coverage of religion news. Watch video or listen to MP3 audio of Terry Mattingly. Ansley Roan
Listen to MP3 audio of Ansley Roan. David Gibson
David Gibson of "ReligionLink" and "PoliticsDaily.com" spoke at the RCC NYC chapter meeting on Oct. 20, 2009. |
Kevin S. Ryan (
Our lunch meeting on Tuesday, April 15, featured a stimulating discussion with Elizabeth Scalia, a managing editor of 
Executive Producer John P. Blessington and Producer Liz Kineke, of CBS Television's Religion and Culture Series, spoke at the RCC NYC Chapter meeting in April 2011.
Arnold Labaton of 
Rosanna Scotto, co-anchor of WNYW's Good Day New York, spoke at the RCC NYC chapter meeting in January 2011. 
Tom Ehrich spoke at the RCC NYC chapter meeting in January 2010. He discusses how religious organizations can use social media (e.g. Facebook, Twitter), blogs, e-mail, and new marketing tools.
Deacon Greg Kandra of 
Paul Raushenbush of 
Joshua M. Greene and Shiva Kumar spoke at the RCC NYC chapter meeting in March 2010 about using video for effective communication.
Terry Mattingly spoke at the RCC NYC chapter meeting in February 2010.
Ansley Roan of 