News & Events Event Reports

North America Regional Hub: Collaborating for Cohesion — Optimising Faith-Civic Partnerships 

Publication Date:

14/05/2026

Content Type:

Event Reports

Share:

Tags:

Community EngagementFaith-Civic PartnershipsNorth America Regional HubPittsburgh Theological SeminarySocial Cohesion

— 7 minutes reading time

This report provides a summary of discussions during the webinar and does not necessarily reflect the views of the Pittsburgh Theological Seminary, the Strong Cities Network Management Unit, Strong Cities members, event sponsors or participants.

Summary

On 14 May 2026, the Strong Cities Network and the Pittsburgh Theological Seminary hosted a webinar on the Collaborating for Cohesion: Optimising Faith-Civic Partnerships as part of an ongoing joint strategic partnership. The session was designed to help equip mayors and city leaders to better understand the vital role faith communities can play in addressing hatred, polarisation and division in their cities. Panellists explored how faith leaders, communities and institutions can serve as essential collaborators with city hall and local government in rebuilding civic trust, fostering belonging and promoting shared values across diverse communities.

Panellists:

• Abbie Haug, Program Manager, National Bridgebuilding Initiatives, Interfaith America
• Rev. Dr. Amanda Henderson, Director, Institute for Religion, Politics, and Culture, Iliff School of Theology and Councilmember, City of Littleton (Colorado, USA)
• Martin Brooks, Regional Director, Peace Catalyst International

Facilitator

• Rev. Dr. Asa Lee, President, Pittsburgh Theological Seminary

Key Takeaways

• Faith communities, which often boast a deep well of engaged and consistent volunteers, can serve as vital partners for local governments in building cohesive and connected cities.
• Local government engagement with faith communities, leaders and institutions should be long-term, intentional work rooted in shared humanity and centred on relationship building and curiosity. It should avoid transactional or inauthentic approaches.
• Impactful collaboration between local governments and faith communities does not require both sides to agree on all topics but does require respect and cooperation from all parties.

Summary

Speakers shared the unique contributions that faith-based institutions and faith communities can make to their cities, particularly during periods of crisis and division. Abbie Haug, Program Manager of National Bridgebuilding Initiatives at Interfaith America, said that despite common misperceptions, religious participation and engagement remain significant across the United States and faith communities serve as powerful but often untapped and underutilised partners for local governments to help build and foster social cohesion. She added that residents often look to faith institutions to provide moral leadership, trust and opportunities for service and that faith communities often boast a deep well of engaged and consistent volunteers that institutions, including local governments, can draw upon for the benefit of the wider community, especially in times of crisis and division.

Abbie pointed to the Tri-Faith Initiative in Omaha, Nebraska as an example of successful interfaith work benefiting the wider city. Under this initiative, a mosque, synagogue and church share a common campus in Omaha and engage in interfaith initiatives including Project Team Up to increase religious literacy and better address food insecurity within local communities in the area. The initiative also hosts a dinner series with local elected officials and faith leaders to discuss and improve food security and service delivery.

Abbie underlined the importance of elected leaders building trust and relationships with faith communities to co-create solutions. This starts with enhancing the religious literacy of local government leaders to help them better understand diversity within religions and inform how they engage with faith communities with authenticity and curiosity, appreciating the unique and distinct nature of the different communities. Martin Brooks, Regional Director of Peace Catalyst International, shared that faith communities often have strong relationships with each other and that local government leaders should engage with these faith networks – which reach deep into local communities. He added that most faith communities share the ethos that teaches them to ‘love thy neighbor’ and can support wider community conversations about how residents can better care for one another and their city.

Rev. Dr. Amanda Henderson, Director of the Institute for Religion, Politics, and Culture at the Iliff School of Theology and City Councilmember of Littleton, Colorado, explained that faith communities are able to approach entrenched, difficult issues with a “reservoir of unconditional love and care”, something local governments may not be able to replicate. She shared that in most cities, religious communities dedicate time each week to discussing metaphysical, esoteric, philosophical and ideological topics including love, truth, hope and forgiveness. She encouraged city officials to join these conversations to better understand and address their community’s most pressing challenges.

Dr. Henderson also shared missteps local public leaders can make when engaging religious communities. Such leaders, she said, may not fully appreciate the role religion plays in people’s lives and thus engage with faith communities with a transactional approach rather than a relationship-based one. She explained that faith communities appreciate local leaders who listen, build relationships and approach collaboration challenges together. She added that, although the media frequently focuses on religious divisions, faith communities and their networks often work across denominations on community initiatives. More local governments should join and enhance these efforts, she stressed.

Martin agreed that local elected leaders often err by approaching faith communities with a predetermined agenda instead of a curious, collaborative approach focused on achieving common goals. He echoed Abbie’s statement that faith communities are not monoliths and advised against local leaders imposing their own understanding of religions or faith. Martin was particularly encouraged by former Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer’s approach to building the social fabric of a community through collaboration, trust and shared values.

Martin shared that, following a local mosque that was vandalised by hateful graffiti in 2015, Mayor Fischer denounced the incident and joined interfaith leaders and thousands of residents to help paint over the graffiti. Martin also offered advice for successful multi-sector partnerships, advocating first for organic relationship building that fosters trust and understanding. Referring to this process as “slow work”, he underlined that singular meetings with faith communities or institutions will not solve challenges. To ensure that residents and faith communities can thrive over the long term, local leaders must commit to working with faith-based institutions and communities consistently and intentionally.

Expanding on approaches to multi-sector partnerships, Abbie shared Interfaith America’s pluralism principles for bridge-building projects: respect, relate, cooperate. She encouraged local officials to employ these principles to inspire collaboration and cohesion and help address community challenges. She argued that, rather than seeking complete agreement from the outset, residents can commit to respecting one another and work towards authentic cooperation and solve problems around the values they do share.

Reflecting on her work as a City Councilmember in Littleton, Colorado, Rev. Henderson highlighted the importance for elected leaders to foster healing and strengthen connection across political and religious spaces. She shared that this important and long-term work for local elected leaders includes engaging faith leaders, showing up for all faith communities and setting aside assumptions. She also advocated for faith communities to organise, meet with their local elected officials and work together to recognise and strengthen their contributions and impact in the wider community.

While concluding the webinar, panellists shared practical advice for local elected leaders to begin engagement with faith communities, including building one-on-one relationships as a first step, then scheduling inclusive gatherings in neutral spaces (e.g. libraries or community centres) and leading meetings with curiosity not political or other agendas.

Next Steps

The Strong Cities Network, in partnership with the Pittsburgh Theological Seminary and in cooperation with Mayor Corey O’Connor and the City of Pittsburgh, will host the third annual US Mayoral Retreat from 5 – 7 August 2026 on the campus of the Pittsburgh Theological Seminary. Through a mix of panel discussions, breakout sessions and inspiring keynotes, mayors and other local elected leaders and city officials from across the country will share experiences and learn from one another about city-led approaches and innovations needed to maintain social cohesion and enhance community resilience in times of crisis, and more broadly about how to build and sustain strong cities. Particular attention will be given to the different ways in which mayors and other elected local officials, as well as local governments, can best engage and partner with faith communities and local institutions across their city on this work.

For more information on the US Mayoral Retreat please contact Katie Wells, US Program Manager, Strong Cities Network at [email protected].

Please sign up for Strong Cities Network’s mailing list to receive invitations for upcoming webinars and other Strong Cities events.

Additional Resources

• Pittsburgh Theological Seminary
• Interfaith America’s Pluralism Framework
• The Team Up Project: Best of America Video Series
• The Tri-Faith Initiative
• Peace Catalyst International
• A Guide For Cities: Preventing Hate, Extremism & Polarisation, Strong Cities Network (2025)
• Sixth Global Summit: The Role of Community-Facing Institutions in Maintaining Social Cohesion in Times of Crisis and Division, Strong Cities Network (2026)
• Sixth Global Summit: Promoting Community-Safety and Wellbeing, Strong Cities Network (2026)
• City Leadership in Partnering with Local Communities for Social Cohesion: Ten Considerations for Mayors and Local Governments, Strong Cities Network (2025)
• City Leadership in the Face of Rising Incivility and Polarisation: Ten Considerations for Mayors and Local Governments, Strong Cities Network (2025)
• Global Crises, Local Impacts: City–University Collaboration in Preventing Hate and Maintaining Social Cohesion in Times of Global Crises, Strong Cities Network (2025)
• A Ten-Step Roadmap for Enhancing City-Led Support for Community-Based Programmes to Address Hate and Extremism, Strong Cities Network (2025)
• Managing Migration: City-Led Approaches for Being an Inclusive, Welcoming and Socially-Cohesive City, Strong Cities Network, 2025
  

Contact Information 

For more information on the US Mayoral Retreat, please contact Katie Wells, Programme Manager, Strong Cities Network at [email protected].

News & EVENTS

Stay up to date with recent news, articles and event reports

News & Events

Looking for something in our Resource Hub?

Or explore all resources

Nominated for Best Animated Short at Cannes

Watch now

Join US

Looking to become a Strong City?

Get in touch