Aim

To create a safe space at the crossroads of some of our world’s most critical conflicts, engaging dissimilar communities in dialogue, service, advocacy and artistic expression

History

On June 25, 1891, in Long Branch, New Jersey, 23-year-old Frederick Brokaw—son of wealthy Fifth Avenue Clothier Isaac Brokaw—drowned while trying to save the life of Annie Doyle, a young immigrant Irish servant. Frederick’s grieving parents wanted to honor the heroic act of their son, so they gave properties (called the Bethany Memorial Buildings) to Madison Avenue Reformed Church to house its outreach mission, caring for poor and immigrant communities on Manhattan’s East Side.The church disbanded in 1917, but the Bethany buildings and assets were turned over to the Collegiate Church Corporation. By 1995, the Bethany congregation was no longer able to sustain its buildings and the Collegiate Church began the process of selling the land, which concluded in 2003. The income from the sale of the Bethany buildings was used to create an endowment for a new ministry. After much discernment, the Collegiate Church decided that the world most needed a multi-cultural, multi-faith, global initiative committed to forging justice, reconciliation and peace. Intersections International was launched in September 2007, our name symbolically representing our work bringing people together across lines of difference in pursuit of global social justice.Collegiate Church decided to create a new ministry as a global initiative dedicated to promoting justice, reconciliation and peace. Founded in September 2007, Intersections' name symbolically represents its purpose: to bring together diverse groups to forge a common ground for global social justice.