Rabbi Matthew Cutler
Imam Genghis Khan
Rev. Amaury Tañón-Santos
Members of Schenectady Clergy Against Hate will lead a discussion Thursday, Jan. 18, at 5:30 p.m. in the Nott Memorial as part of the College’s Forum on Constructive Engagement.
The event is free and open to the public.
Panelists include:
- Rabbi Matthew Cutler, Congregation Gates of Heaven in Schenectady
- Imam Genghis Khan, Muslim Student Association Advisor and Imam, Schenectady County Jail
- Rev. Amaury Tañón-Santos, executive director/CEO, Schenectady Community Ministries
President David R. Harris will moderate the discussion.
A network of Jewish, Sikh, Christian, Muslim and Pagan faith leaders formed Schenectady Clergy Against Hate following the 2016 presidential election to speak against discrimination and intolerance. The coalition is dedicated to encouraging healthy conversations to bring about systemic change by inviting everyone across political and religious lines “to affirm the sanctity that exists in all people and to denounce actions and speech rooted in hatred.”
Cutler has been the spiritual leader of Congregation Gates of Heaven in Schenectady since 1995. He is also the national co-chair of JubileeUSA, an interfaith organization that seeks to relieve poverty and heartache for the world’s poorest and most impoverished people.
Khan has been speaking on Islam and Muslims over the past 30 years at various religious, interfaith, educational and corporate venues. He is the imam at the Schenectady County Jail. Since 2015, he’s been the advisor to the Muslim Student Association at Union.
Since March 2021, Tañón-Santos has been executive director and CEO of the Schenectady Community Ministries, a half-century-old collaborative of faith communities in the greater Schenectady area seeking to address the social, financial and political injustices that emanate from and perpetuate systemic poverty. Before that, he was a networker for the Synod of the Northeast, the region of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) that serves 1100 gospel communities, organized in 22 presbyteries in New England, New Jersey and New York.
Established by President Harris in 2019, the Forum on Constructive Engagement series aims to broaden perspectives for and promote meaningful exchange on issues. The forum is organized by Union’s chief diversity officers and presented by the Williams Legacy Foundation.