The Greater Concord Interfaith Council was founded in 1950 as the Greater Concord Council of Churches. In the mid 1980’s, the constitution was revised and the council’s name was changed to the Greater Concord Interfaith Council. Membership was extended to other religious bodies interested in furthering our goals. Today, GCIC is one of the best networking organizations in Concord to promote peace and social justice and give a voice to those who don’t have a strong voice within the community. Their structure is membership-based, with three representatives from each faith community, including the leader of the faith community (if that community has such a thing) and two lay representatives. We are always trying to identify faith communities that we haven’t seen around the table yet. Members are intentional about creating opportunities to share about their faith and dispel myths and stereotypes. The Interfaith Council started a soup kitchen (Friendly Kitchen) many years ago. They also started a Family Promise homeless shelter. They have a lot of things going on -- Lenten Luncheons, a Crop Walk with Church World Services for hunger, World Religions Day, Martin Luther King Service Day, Holocaust Memorial Day, Thanksgiving Interfaith Service, and every other year we have an interfaith Passover Seder. They are one of the sponsors for a big Kids4Peace event. They also periodically invite community members to speak at their monthly meetings to explain what their groups are doing.
