Brooklyn pastor devoted to improving communities
By Nelson A. King
Pastor Gilford T. Monrose, of
Mt. Zion Church of God (7th
Day) in East Flatbush, Brooklyn
and founder of the Brooklyn
Center of Quality Life (BCQL),
said he is totally committed to
improving Brooklyn’s diverse
communities.
A native of the US Virgin
Islands (USVI), whose parents
hail from St. Lucia, Pastor Monrose
told Caribbean Life, in an
exclusive interview, that his
work, as director of the Office
of Faith-Based and Clergy Initiatives
for Brooklyn Borough
President, Eric Adams, enables
him to endeavor to enhance
Brooklyn’s diverse communities
“regardless of their religious or
political beliefs.”
He said the Office of Faith-
Based and Clergy Initiatives
serves, among others, churches,
temples, synagogues, mosques,
places of worship, schools, hospitals,
senior centers, local missions,
food pantry, soup kitchen,
colleges, universities, homeless
shelters, para-church ministries,
faith institutions, foundations,
museums and health centers.
“Our top priorities will be
making religious and community
groups an integral part of
our economic recovery and cultural
revival, organizing events
around religious celebrations, as
well as representing Borough
Hall at major tragedies, memorial
services, religious and faithbased
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functions,” said Pastor
Monrose, who is also founding
president of the 67th Precinct
Clergy Council in Brooklyn, also
known as the God Squad.
He said the Office of Faith-
Based and Clergy Initiatives also
interfaces with not-for-profit
groups, empowers houses of
worship and faith leaders, identifies
resources and capacity,
notifies religious leaders of public
/ private grant opportunities,
facilitates leadership training,
and “opens the use of space” at
Brooklyn Borough Hall.
In recognizing that the
amount of city-owned land to
achieve Mayor Bill de Blasio’s
vision for 200,000 affordable
housing units is a dwindling
resource, Pastor Monrose said
Adams has pursued partnerships
with Brooklyn’s faithbased
institutions.
He said many of these institutions
have the social vision to
advance affordable and supportive
housing.
But, while they may have
excess development rights,
“these institutions often do not
have the financial or technical
capacity to advance these development
rights,” Monrose said.
Among the initiatives he has
instituted for Borough Hall are:
Emergency operations plans
for Houses of Worship; digital
dialogue with high schools
on community police relations;
Building Brooklyn Right; agency
forum for Houses of Worship;
Iftar Dinner; Diwali celebration;
Bishops Roundtable; Women
in Faith Working Group; Interfaith
Breakfast; Day of Prayer at
the Christian Cultural Center;
Caribbean-American Heritage;
Black History Month Clergy tour
of Weeksville Heritage Center;
and Health and Wellness Initiative
for Clergy.
In addition, Pastor Monrose
serves as co-chair of the Brooklyn
Complete Count Committee
for Adams.
He said BCQL comprises “dedicated
and caring individuals who
work hard to provide resources
that are essential to the community’s
immediate needs.
“By staying abreast of current
events, we provide services
that are both effective and
expansive,” he said, disclosing
that BCQL’s program “targets
members of the Brooklyn Community.”
He said about 77 percent of
BCQL’s clients are Black/African
American, with the majority
being “low-income, immigrant
adults who live in poverty
and have less than a high
school diploma, as reported by
the New York City Department
of Health and Mental Hygiene
(NYC DOHMH).”
As the loving husband of wife
Dianne and father to Gianne
and Joshua, Pastor Monrose
described himself as “a passionate
advocate for families and
children.” Monrose and his family
live in Weeksville, Brooklyn.
“We judge ourselves by what
we feel capable of doing, while
others judge us by what we
have already done,” said Pastor
Monrose in quoting Henry
Wadsworth Longfellow.
Pastor Gilford T. Monrose.
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