Interfaith Ministries of Greater Houston to be Awarded Prestigious 2013 FBI Director’s Community Leadership Award

Special Agent in Charge (SAC) of the Houston Division of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Stephen L. Morris announces Interfaith Ministries of Greater Houston will be awarded the prestigious FBI Director’s Community Leadership Award for 2013.

Established in 1990, the Director’s Community Leadership Award is presented each year by FBI field offices to individuals and organizations who have made a positive impact through their achievements in service to the community.

Established in 1992, IMGH’s mission is "to bring people of diverse faith traditions together for dialogue, collaboration, and service, as a demonstration of shared beliefs." IMGH works with 10 communities of faith, including Baha'i, Buddhist, Christian, Hindu, Jain, Jewish, Muslim, Sikh, Unitarian Universalist, and Zoroastrian.

Interfaith Ministries of Greater Houston manifests the strength of shared beliefs through four areas of service to the greater Houston community: interfaith relations, refugee services, disaster preparedness and response, and Meals on Wheels for greater Houston.

The Houston FBI Field Office regularly partners with IMGH to support interfaith events, to educate teens, and to advance cooperation between various faith groups. As barriers are broken down through education and dialogue, tensions among diverse communities diminish. IMGH, by opening doors of understanding and fostering meaningful collaborations, performs notable service in the prevention of hostilities among the residents of the U.S.’s most diverse city, while at the same time performing charitable acts that benefit the entire community.

Eliot Gershenson, president and CEO of Interfaith Ministries, will travel to Washington, D.C., to receive the award, along with other recipients from around the nation, from FBI Director James Comey in a ceremony at FBI Headquarters in the spring of 2014.