Greater Hartford Interfaith Action Alliance (GHIAA)
50 diverse faith communities and allied institutions throughout
Greater Hartford organizing together for justice!
What Is GHIAA?
GHIAA is a broad-based organization of diverse faith communities and allied institutions organizing together for justice in the Greater Hartford Region.
Founded in 2019 with 35 member institutions, GHIAA has grown to include a current total of 52 congregations.
GHIAA is intentionally diverse in religion, race, geography, and socioeconomics. We are Jewish, Muslim, Protestant, Catholic, Quaker, and Unitarian Universalist. We are Black, brown, white, and multiracial. We are urban, suburban, and rural. We are historic and new, traditional and contemporary, large and small and in between.
Together, we develop leaders, build relationships, share our stories, and use our collective power to make concrete change in our communities. GHIAA is an initiative of the Center for Leadership & Justice.
We are always seeking to connect with new communities as we build power and make change. To learn more or get connected, please contact our Lead Organizer, Rev. Jocelyn Gardner Spencer, at jgardnerspencer@cljct.org or 860-527-9860 x108.
Trainings and Actions
Upcoming GHIAA actions:
Stay tuned for opportunities during the 2025 legislative session!
Upcoming GHIAA trainings:
Core Team Training – our signature leadership training covers fundamentals of faith-based relational organizing, weaving together theory and practice in an interactive and impactful format. This training is led by members of our professional organizing staff [link to staff page].
(Up)Rooting Racial (In)justice – our racial justice training engages participants in understanding how oppression functions in the internal, interpersonal, institutional, and ideological realms. We create common language and conceptual frameworks, dive deep in personal reflection, and practice together how to disrupt racism when it occurs through real-life case studies. This training is led by expert facilitators Shae Washington and Jason Fredlund.
If you and your congregation are interested in exploring GHIAA membership and building your organizing skills, please contact Rev. Jocelyn Gardner Spencer, GHIAA Lead Organizer.
Organizing Process
We follow the principles and practices of faith-based relational organizing, grounded in a firm commitment to antiracism. We believe that deep and authentic relationships are the foundation of all we do. Therefore, we begin by listening to people’s stories. From there, we identify shared themes in our struggles. We distill broad, nebulous problems into specific, concrete issues where we can use our collective power to create systemic change. We analyze power, identify root causes, act strategically, and evaluate our campaigns to learn from our successes and failures.
1. Individual Meetings: Individual meetings are the fundamental building blocks of organizing together. They are an opportunity for two souls to connect face-to-face.
2. House Meetings: House meetings are 60-90 minute conversations with 6-10 people facilitated by a leader. They are an opportunity for people to deepen relationship, engage one another, and imagine together how to improve our neighborhood and city. Effective house meetings are built around good storytelling: stories that illustrate people’s deepest concerns and stir us to action.
3. Research & Cutting Issues: Common issues that arise from the house meetings are then researched and cut into campaigns that are specific and resolvable.
4. Action & Evaluation: We hold structured public actions where leaders and organizers confront decision makers capable of effecting desired change. We evaluate our work every step of the way as we continue moving through the cycle.
Member Institutions
GHIAA Member Institutions
- 1. Asylum Hill Congregational Church, Hartford
- 2. B’nai Tikvoh-Sholom, Bloomfield
- 3. Beth El Temple, West Hartford
- 4. Beth Sholom B’nai Israel, Manchester
- 5. Center Church, Hartford
- 6. Center for Leadership and Justice, Hartford
- 7. Christ the King Catholic Parish, Wethersfield
- 8. Church of Christ, Congregational, Newington
- 9. Collaborative Center for Justice, Hartford
- 10. Concordia Lutheran Church, Manchester
- 11. Congregation Beth Israel, West Hartford
- 12. Congregation P’nai Or, West Hartford
- 13. Congregational Church in South Glastonbury
- 14. Emanuel Lutheran Church, Hartford
- 15. Faith Congregational Church, Hartford
- 16. Faith Seventh-Day Adventist Church, Hartford
- 17. Farmington Valley Jewish Congregation – Emek Shalom, Simsbury
- 18. First Church of Christ, Glastonbury
- 19. First Church of Christ, Simsbury
- 20. First Church of Christ, West Hartford
- 21. First Presbyterian Church, Hartford
- 22. Flagg Road United Church of Christ, West Hartford
- 23. Franciscan Center for Urban Ministry, Hartford
- 24. Grace Lutheran Church, Hartford
- 25. Hartford Friends Meeting (Quakers), West Hartford
- 26. Immanuel Congregational Church, Hartford
- 27. Islamic Association of Greater Hartford, Berlin
- 28. Jewish Community Relations Council, Greater Hartford
- 29. Kehilat Chaverim, Greater Hartford
- 30. Ministerio Nueva Creación/New Creation Ministry, Manchester
- 31. Muslim Coalition of CT
- 32. New Antioch Missionary Baptist Church, Hartford
- 33. New Covenant United Methodist Church, East Hartford
- 34. North End Power Team, Hartford
- 35. North United Methodist Church, Hartford
- 36. Office of the Auxiliary Bishop Emeritus, Archdiocese of Hartford
- 37. Riverfront Family Church, Hartford
- 38. Rocky Hill Congregational Church
- 39. Saint John’s Episcopal Church, Vernon
- 40. Saint Monica’s Episcopal Church, Hartford
- 41. Saint Patrick – St. Anthony Catholic Parish, Hartford
- 42. Granby Congregational church
- 43. Temple Sinai, Newington
- 44. Trinity Episcopal Church, Hartford
- 45. Trinity Lutheran Church, Vernon
- 46. Unitarian Society of Hartford
- 47. Unitarian Universalist Society East, Manchester
- 48. United Methodist Church, Hartford
- 49. Universalist Church of West Hartford
- 50. Urban Hope Refuge Church, Hartford
- 51. West Hartford United Methodist Church
- 52. Westminster Presbyterian Church, West Hartford
Strategy Team
Strategy Team Members
Andriena Baldwin, Urban Hope Refuge Church
Rabbi Debra Cantor, B’nai Tikvoh-Sholom
Rabbi Andi Fliegel, Congregation Beth Israel
Rev. Isaac Lawson, Southern New England Conference, United Church of Christ
Rev. D Littlepage, Episcopal Church in Connecticut
Luwannia Martin, New Antioch Baptist Church
Dwayne David Paul, St. Patrick – St. Anthony Roman Catholic Church
Rev. Josh Pawelek, Unitarian Universalist Society East
Cynthia Perry, Faith Seventh-Day Adventist Church
Rev. Tracy Johnson Russell, St. Monica’s Episcopal Church
GHIAA’s Current Action Campaigns
GHIAA’s Previous Action Campaigns
