December 15, 2023

Amir Durić is a Muslim Chaplain at Hendricks Chapel and Executive Director of Muslim Student Life at Syracuse University. He is also a visiting chaplain at a few local hospitals. Before coming to Syracuse in 2017, Durić served as a community imam for ten years, three years in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Hercegovina, and seven years in the Delaware Valley-Philadelphia region. Durić also did some chaplaincy work with the New Jersey Department of Corrections from 2013 to 2016.

Imam Durić holds a bachelor's degree in Islamic studies from the University of Sarajevo and a master's degree in religious studies from Hartford Seminary, where he also completed two graduate certificates, one focusing on Muslim community leadership and another on Islamic chaplaincy. Durić is currently enrolled in the Social Science Ph.D. Program at Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs at Syracuse University with a research interest in multiracial religious congregations and contemporary Muslim communities.

Chaplain Durić promotes interfaith dialogue, community engagement, and Islamic education. He has actively participated in various interfaith initiatives to foster understanding and cooperation between religious communities and has presented at global conferences like the Parliament of World's Religions. Durić received the 2023 Chancellor's Diversity and Inclusion Award at Syracuse University.

On December 5, InterFaith Works' Round Table of Faith Leaders held a prayer event for peace in various conflict-ridden regions such as the Middle East, Ukraine, Sudan, and Congo at Onondaga Community College.

The event showcased the presence of local faith leaders and young voices who recited poetry, sang songs, and offered prayers for peace. The prayers were centered on urging those in power to de-escalate wars and promote citizen diplomacy worldwide, leading us closer to world peace.

Imagine setting up an apartment for daily living. Most of us have moved households at some point, but imagine setting up everything from bedsheets to kitchenware and all the items in between. Refugee families face this reality when arriving in Central New York, and InterFaith Works meets those needs for every client and family, thanks to caring people like you.

The Center for New Americans Resettlement Wish Lists are a new way to contribute household items to help a family resettle. It's as simple as following the link and placing an order through the Amazon, Target and Walmart websites. Your order ships directly to the InterFaith Works Warehouse in East Syracuse. From there, Warehouse staff and volunteers organize and distribute items, so newly arriving families have everything they need.

The needs of the Warehouse stockpiles will change, as will the needs of arriving families, depending on the month and/or season. So check out the Resettlement Wish Lists today, next week, next month or periodically for the changing in list needs, and thank you for being part of creating new homes in Central New York!

If you would like to donate goods and/or household items from your home or residence, the Warehouse (14 Corporate Circle, East Syracuse) is open for drop off on Tuesdays and Thursdays, 10:00AM to noon. For large donation items, the InterFaith Works truck can be scheduled for pick up in the greater Syracuse area on Mondays only. For more information about the Warehouse/truck drop off or pick up services and schedules, contact Rhonda Butler at 315-449-3552, ext. 127, or email rbutler@ifwcny.org.

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