A creative, welcoming and diverse place for nonprofits in Indianapolis
Indiana Interchurch Center
About the Interchurch Center & Community
The Indiana Interchurch Center is much more than a building. It’s a community of nonprofit organizations working to solve the most urgent challenges we face at home and abroad. The Interchurch Center provides offices where denomination administrative headquarters and nonprofits develop strategies and implementation plans. More importantly, it offers a space where these the broader community can engage in learning and conversing, service and advocacy. We invite you to visit the Interchurch Center, and participate in events that interest you.
A passion for social change and justice
Who are some of the members of the Interchurch Community and what do they care about?
Denominations. The Interchurch Center houses the administrative headquarters of several denomination: The United Church of Christ, Indiana-Kentucky Conference; the Christian Church in Indiana (Disciples of Christ); the Synod of Lincoln Trails (Presbyterian Church USA in Indiana and Illinois), the Episcopal Diocese of Indianapolis; the Whitewater Valley Presbytery; and the American Baptist Churches of Greater Indianapolis. Other religious groups call the Center home. The St. Mary of Magdala Catholic Community is one of the few Catholic churches in the world that celebrates mass with a Womanpriest.
Health and wellness. The Minority Health Coalition of Marion County and the Indiana Rural Health Association extend health services to the most marginalized populations. Even the health of animals are addressed: Spay and Neuter Services of Indiana helps low-income families afford to spay their pets.
Undocumented immigrants. The Indiana Undocumented Youth Alliance is one of the state's best known groups protecting the rights of "Dreamers" and other undocumented Hoosiers.
Homeless people. The Coalition for Homelessness Intervention and Protection (CHIP) is Central Indiana's main organization analyzing homelessness and building a blueprint to end it.
Environmental protection. Three of Indiana's leading environmental organizations call the Interchurch Center home: the Hoosier Chapter of the Sierra Club, Earth Charter Indiana and Hoosier Interfaith Power and Light. The Hoosier Environmental Council offers monthly environmental advocate training at the IIC.
Opioid crisis. Overdose Lifeline has emerged as one of the country's most influential organizations fighting drug overdose.
Interfaith engagement. The Center for Interfaith Cooperation is one of the Midwest's primary groups promoting inter-religious education, dialogue and service. The Niagara Foundation organizes monthly interfaith conversations and several interfaith iftars at the Interchurch Center every Ramadan. The Jewish Community Relations Council and the Muslim Alliance of Indiana are the main groups promoting interfaith cooperation for the Jewish and Muslim communities.
Refugees in Indiana and around the world. OBAT Helpers is one of the only NGOs in the world working in the camps of the Rohingya in Bangladesh. The Peace Center for Forgiveness and Reconciliation helps Congolese refugees integrate into Hoosier society.
Civic renewal. Since January of 2016, Women4Change Indiana has become one of the state's main groups promoting greater engagement for women in politics, and helping Hoosiers more broadly become more active and effective citizens.
Human and civil rights. The Center for Interfaith Cooperation, the Jewish Community Relations Council and the Muslim Alliance of Indiana defend the rights to worship of all Hoosiers. Gender Nexus advocates for the rights of trans-persons. The Indiana Undocumented Youth Alliance promotes the rights of undocumented immigrants. The American Friends Service Committee passionately calls for the respect of human rights of Palestinians in Gaza.
Marginalized children. In addition to defending "Dreamers," the Indiana Undocumented Youth Alliance raises funds for economically disadvantaged immigrants to attend college. Visually Impaired Preschool Services (VIPS) works with the families of unsighted young children. Watch Club and the Center for Interfaith Cooperation organized an intercultural Summer Youth Camp at IIC. The Waza Alliance for Quality Education provides training for teachers in the Democratic of Congo.
Food insecurity. Faith Hope and Love supports and trains missional food pantries across the city.
24 Hr Access
Mail Service, UPS, FedEx On-Site
Fiber-Optic
Internet Connectivity
HD Projectors
An inclusive and welcoming culture
2 Large Meeting Rooms
4 more intimate conference rooms
Ample free parking
Easy Bus Access
Natural Habitat Certification
Energy management and solar panels
On-Site Management
Central Location close to the IMA, CTS & Butler
On-site Art Gallery
24-Hour Camera Surveillance
Fully Accessible to all
Come to the Interchurch Center and be inspired!
Whalen honored as Hoosier Resilience Hero
“These individuals are making an important difference every day in Indiana,” said Environmental Resilience Institute director Ellen Ketterson. “In my view, they are true heroes.”
Sierra Club — “Out-of-state coal interests are funding a battle to keep Indiana coal plants from closing”
“Suffering a major blow at the federal level, with the election of Donald Trump, it comes as no surprise that many anti-coal groups, like the Sierra Club’s Beyond Coal Campaign, have shifted major resources toward state and local initiative.”
Sierra Club — “Indiana House defeats proposed moratorium on new power plants”
In recent days, groups as diverse as the Indiana Energy Association, Hoosier Environmental Council, the Sierra Club and Citizens Action Coalition protested a moratorium, saying it could delay investments in clean energy and prompt energy companies to build in other states without similar restrictions.
AFSC — “VOCAB: at the Forefront of Spoken Word”
Tatjana Rebelle and her friends have created a spoken word series that welcomes all
Sierra Club — “Holcomb Urged to Veto Anti-Protest Bill”
Similar legislation has failed in many other states and has been vetoed by the governors of Wyoming and Minnesota. The ACLU of Indiana, Citizens Action Coalition, the Indigenous Environmental Network and the Sierra Club are among the groups that sent a letter to Gov. Holcomb requesting he veto the bill.
CHIP — “The numbers are in from Indianapolis’ census of homeless youth. Here’s what we learned”
It’s only the second such count conducted in Indianapolis, so it’s too early to establish trends, but gathering the data allows for researchers and public and private entities to better tailor resources and outreach to address the community’s needs, said Chelsea Haring-Cozzi, the coalition’s executive director.
Overdose Lifeline — Cops, firefighters get hand in opioid fight
The Terre Haute Police Department has been carrying naloxone/Narcan since 2016, which was previously supplied at no cost by the organization “Overdose Lifeline” through a grant from the state attorney general, said Sgt. Steve Lockard of the THPD.
Overdose Lifeline — “From prescription to problem, how legal opioids create substance abusers”
Justin Phillips, founder and executive director of Overdose Lifeline, agreed that opioid abuse often stems from medical needs. For example, doctors sometimes prescribe opioids to children after oral surgery, even though children exposed to addictive substances before 15 are five times more likely to develop a substance use disorder. Phillips’ son, Aaron, developed an opioid use disorder when taking opioids to address sports injuries.
Sierra Club — “State electric plants pivoting away from coal”
The Sierra Club says coal’s decline is inevitable, as utilities increasingly look elsewhere for energy sources.
Sierra Club — “ONE – Dubois County hosting forum on activism and leadership”
Studies have shown that the people who are most anxious about the state of the world are the ones who aren’t doing anything.
CHIP — “One Group’s Attempt To Count Indy’s Unaccompanied Homeless Youth”
WFYI’s City Desk reporter Drew Daudelin sat down with Chelsea Haring-Cozzi, executive director of the Coalition For Homelessness Intervention and Prevention, to ask about the ideas and challenges behind the project.
Women4Change — “Gov. Holcomb signs hate crimes bill without specific gender protections into law”
“When you leave out gender, gender identity and age you’re leaving out thousands of Indiana women,” Rima Shahid, executive director of Women4Change Indiana, said.
Women4Change — “Indiana Forward and Women4Change rally at the Indiana Statehouse”
Women4Change Executive Director Rima Shahid listens to speakers at the Indiana Statehouse, Monday, April 1, 2019.
CHIP — “Group focuses on homeless youth and young adults as numbers rise”
A new count shows the number of homeless youth in Marion county is on the rise.The count was done by the Coalition for Homelessness Intervention and Prevention on November 7, 2018. They found 183 youth under age 25 who were experiencing homelessness. The number was 96 more than the number of homeless youth discovered during the 2017 count.
JCRC, Women4Change — “Indiana Senate votes to send controversial hate crimes bill to governor”
“Although age, sex, gender and gender identity are missing from SB198, the millions of Hoosiers who identify with these characteristics are not missing from our coalition’s unwavering support, and we will continue to work to ensure that they are added, and specifically identified, in the statute.”
Women4Change — Bill to enhance sentences with list of protected characteristics heads to governor”
“Without these three characteristics — gender identity, gender and age — we’re not going to have a complete hate crimes law here in Indiana, and that’s what we need,” said Alysa Villelli with Women4Change.
CHIP — “New report shows drastic jump in homeless youth, but…”
“While this comparison between 2017 and 2018 shows a significant increase, I caution people to say it’s an authentic increase,” said Chelsea Haring-Cozzi, the executive director of CHIP. “I really think it’s a better capacity to get data this year. We included data we hadn’t in 2017. It’s not an apples to apples comparison between the two years.”
Women4Change — “IN Focus: Lawmakers on both sides discuss hate crime debate”
“When you leave out gender, gender identity and age you’re leaving out thousands of Indiana women,” said Rima Shahid, executive director of Women4Change Indiana.
Women4Change — “New attempt to add gender, gender identity to hate crimes bill doesn’t move forward”
“When you leave out gender, gender identity and age you’re leaving out thousands of Indiana women,” Rima Shahid, executive director of Women4Change Indiana, said.
CIC — “The Dynamics of Interfaith”
“My hope is that through this project people will be able to recognize the importance of interreligious dialogue and gain some insight on how dedicated members of the CIC have reconciled interfaith to their own faith.”
JCRC — “Amended bias crimes bill draws support, scorn”
The bias crimes language that was accepted on a voice vote mentions color, creed, disability, national origin, race, religion and sexual orientation, but doesn’t explicitly cover age, sex or gender identity.
Come & visit
Indiana Interchurch Center
1100 W. 42nd Street
Indianapolis IN 46208
Phone:
(317) 923-3617
Email:
iic@indianainterchurch.org