Partners

Congregational Partners join their voices with people of faith from across the state. Together, our faith communities represent a powerful, moral voice for social change. Participation in the network also provides faith communities with access to Virginia Interfaith Center’s wide range of advocacy resources, from education curriculum and legislative updates to advocacy training and leadership development.

VICPP provides congregational partners with

• Resources, training and strategy for effective advocacy.
• Skilled staff or board members for preaching and teaching.
• Opportunities to communicate and collaborate with other congregations and faith communities across the state.
• Regular legislative updates and alerts via email.
• Opportunities to communicate directly with legislators, including our annual Day for All People interfaith advocacy day (January each year).
• Assistance in coordinating public or community forums, actions, and prayer services.

The Virginia Interfaith Center relies heavily on our faith communities to help determine our advocacy issues. We encourage faith communities to discern issues by communicating with their local communities and reflecting on their religious traditions. The VICPP Board and Chapter leaders then develop a strategic agenda, usually focusing on one top-tier issue and a few additional issues. The Center has previously worked on issues related to hunger, homelessness, economic justice, the environment, sustainable agriculture, education, healthcare, criminal justice reform and human rights.

No. Becoming a Congregational Partner simply means that a faith community affirms our shared calling to advocate for a more just and sustainable world. How you and your faith community carry out a ministry of advocacy in your local context is up to you. When the Virginia Interfaith Center takes a position on a particular issue, it is a recommendation that we hope individuals within your faith community will consider and engage with.

A part of being in VICPP’s statewide network of Congregational  Partners is a regular financial contribution, at a level that make sense for your budget. Congregational Partners can make VICPP a line item in your annual budget or special mission allocations, collect a designated offering for VICPP, or host a fundraiser that benefits VICPP’s advocacy. Congregational Partners are also encouraged to let VICPP know of endowments or other funding sources in your community to which we can apply for funds, and attend or sponsor our annual VICPP awards dinner fundraiser in the fall. Your contribution makes a difference!

VICPP follows a "Learn, Pray, Act" model. The Liaisons in the Congregational Partners network receive quarterly calls to action, and our Partners are encouraged to do at least one activity per year in each category. Some ideas include

• Invite staff or board members from the Virginia Interfaith Center to teach and/or preach in your faith community.
• Convene an advocacy study group related to your tradition’s scriptures or important texts.
• Host a community forum (and invite elected officials) on a critical social issue.
• Collect an offering of letters from members to legislators on one of Virginia Interfaith Center’s priority issues.
• Send members to the Day for All People interfaith advocacy day in Richmond (in January).
• Help organize or attend marches, rallies, or other courageous public actions.
• Attend VICPP’s annual awards dinner and fundraising event (September).
• Make VICPP a line item in your faith community’s budget, or take up a special offering for the Virginia Interfaith Center.

VICPP is a 501c3 organization that works on economic and racial justice issues. The organization educates and equips its leadership and volunteers to speak directly to government officials as one method of doing advocacy, but the work is always done in a nonpartisan manner and the advocacy work is well within the limits established by the Internal Revenue Service. The network of Congregational Partners empowers and supports faith communities and individuals to seek social change through a variety of means, including education, direct action and religious witness.