There are many people who make A Journey through NYC religions possible. Here are a few of them!
In the course of reporting on religious responses on the Gulf Coast after Katrina, Tony Carnes photographed wrapped bodies lying before the chapel altar and elsewhere at Memorial Hospital in New Orleans. One photo appeared on the front page of the New York Times. The photos were later used in the ProPublica/New York Times Magazine investigative story “The Deadly Choices at Memorial,” for which Sheri Fink won the 2010 Pulitzer Prize for Investigative Journalism. It was also the first Pulitzer Prize given to an online media publication. The story won a National Magazine Award from the National Magazine Award and a Society of Professional Journalists Sigma Chi award. Carnes wondered if the ProPublica model of web investigative journalism could be applied to religion reporting in New York City.
He has produced a documentary on Jacob Riis, his personal hero among NYC journalists. He is co-editor of New York Glory: religions in the city (with Anna Karpathakis) and Asian American Religions: the making and remaking of borders and boundaries (with Fenggang Yang), both published by New York University Press. He published “Asian American Religions” in The Oxford Encyclopedia of Religion in America. He is a member of the Society of Professional Journalists, the Online News Association, Religion Newswriters Association, the Deadline Club, and the Society for the Social Scientific Study of Religion. For Christianity Today, he has produced many award-winning, influential stories.
Pauline Dolle has worked with A Journey since 2012 to explore and document the city in which she has lived for her entire life. She takes particular interest in the innovations of New York City’s spiritual seekers and the ways that her generation interacts with the faiths of their predecessors. Her series on “The Millennial Megachurch” defines the DNA of the newest wave of young evangelical churches in NYC by profiling three of the city’s largest young adult services. She also tracked young local faith leaders as they became involved with the protests over the killing of Eric Garner.
Tim Morgan is director of the Journalism Certificate Program at Wheaton College (Illinois) and has been a journalist since 1980. An award-winning journalist, Morgan has served as editor-in-chief of a daily newspaper, deputy managing editor of a national magazine (Christianity Today), and as a correspondent for national and international news services. For most of his career, he has trained students, peers, and educators in the essentials of journalism as well as the use of digital and online technology. In 2012, he launched www.MillennialInflux.com, a website designed to showcase the journalism of early-career Millennials. He is a member of the Evangelical Press Association and the Society of Professional Journalists.
Brian Finnerty is an award-winning television news producer. His production of A Journey through NYC religions TV Magazine won Religious News Association honors as the best religion news magazine feature in the United States. He is also U.S. Communications Director for the Catholic lay organization Opus Dei.
Melissa Kimiadi was born in Indonesia and has lived in New York City since the age of 3 and considers the city her home. Her experience of growing up in the city has influenced her graduate work, which concerns cultural memory in NYC’s thriving Indonesian community. She is studying cultural anthropology at Hunter College.
Although Melissa was raised in a Catholic faith, she was surrounded by people of Islamic, Christian, and Buddhist faiths growing up, most of whom were friends of the family and extended relatives. At the age of 14, her parents encouraged her to find a faith that was most compatible with her heart. After what had seemed like an endless search, Melissa decided she would like to practice the universal faith of kindness and openness. To Melissa, the religious essence is the search for meaning in human existence. Melissa hopes that this religious search can help bridge differences in communities and emphasize unity in diversity among all humans.
In her spare time, she enjoys volunteering, visiting museums, live music, food explorations, nature and meaningful connections with people. Working on this project allows Melissa to share, explore, discover, investigate, analyze, and fall in love with her beloved city all over again. She started as a reporter and then became Deputy Director & Assistant Editor.
Ellen Ko has written for the Joongang Daily Newspaper, participated in civic engagement discussions for the Korean American Youth Foundation, and, for the Korean American Association of Greater New York, has facilitated discussions on Asian American history. She began work on this article for Ari Goldman’s course on religion reporting at the School of The New York Times.
Jay Yee is a writer, actor, pastor, and good neighbor. Read his moving story of neighborhood crime-fighting in Elmhurst, Queens: “Fighting for faith and freedom in a Queens neighborhood.”
Watch Chef Debbie cook up a Thanksgiving pho (Vietnamese soup)!
Hi! Let me introduce myself. My name is Debbie. I do “Kitchens of Faith” and write entries that recount my experiences conducting telephone interviews for A Journey through NYC religions.
I grew up in New York City as an “ABC” (American-Born Chinese) in an immigrant family living in the upper west side and later living in a predominantly Jewish neighborhood in Queens. We spent our summers up in the Catskills. My dad is a master pastelist, and my mom is a homemaker. I became a Christian when I was a teenager at a Dutch reformed church. I studied Marketing at New York University and worked in advertising for several years. I love cooking, jazz music, meeting people, museums, and traveling.
More recently, I have been raising a family with my husband and doing publicity work. I was looking for an outlet for my interviewing skills and joined the A Journey team. The interviews often result in deeply meaningful and thought-provoking experiences for me, and I want to share some of the richness of that experience with you. Most of our work results in objective reporting, but my entries will give a better glimpse into the personal aspects of this project.
Christopher Smith does field reporting, breaking news, and leads Journey Data Center projects. He studied at New York Theological Seminary and came with a finance background.
Rasool Berry is a cultural creative as well as Teaching Pastor at The Bridge Church, which meets Sundays @ 4PM and 6PM with a Children’s Ministry offered at the 4PM service. 98 5th Avenue, Brooklyn, NY 11217 (near The Barclays Center). Berry has been on CRU staff for 20 years and graduated from the University of Pennsylvania with a Bachelor of Arts in Africana Studies and minor in Sociology. He has done theological studies at Reformed Theological Seminary. He has a podcast “Where Ya From?“ Also, see his new documentary “Juneteenth”. Read his provocative “Black lives matter! Jesus is Lord!.”
Maria Karlya is a reporter for A Journey through NYC religions.
Garrett Kling is a contributor to A Journey through NYC religions. zgkling@tiu.edu
Previously, he went on A Journey while studying journalism in New York City. He says, “I fell in love with the city that always has a story waiting to be told.” After an internship at A Journey, he has contributed features ranging from Muslims to Episcopalians. He was also editor of the Trinity Digest, the official newspaper publication of Trinity International University in Deerfield, Illinois. He has written for the Pioneer Press, The WJI Times Observer, and Trinity Magazine.
Arthur La Motta was an intern with A Journey through NYC religions. Coming from Grove City College, La Motta traveled this summer with us through Bushwick, Bedford-Stuyvesant, and Ocean Hill-Brownsville in Brooklyn and down God’s Row Eldridge Street on a Journey Workshop for Manhattan College.
Alexandra Kytka was a student intern and is a reporter for A Journey through NYC religions. She was a reporter for the series “Moved to Heaven” and “”Online Religion.” On December 1, 2020, she helped to launch the Journey-like The London Mosaic (take a look!). she is studying for a degree at King’s College London. She’s the creator of several podcasts including “Ergo the Podcast” and “Religious War,” She is also a singer/songwriter. Listen to her new single “Morning Tea” on all streaming platforms. She may be reached at agkytka@gmail.com.
We will shortly have links to the dozens of contributors to A Journey through NYC religions!
