Dear Friends, 

As NRCAT celebrates over 20 years of fighting to end torture this year, we want to recognize the longtime grassroots partners whose work and support have served as the core of this movement. Today, we’re highlighting one of NRCAT’s long-time partners in California, Interfaith Communities United for Justice and Peace (ICUJP), which is celebrating its 25th anniversary this year! 

From 9/11 to 25 Years of Action 

ICUJP was founded in the aftermath of September 11, 2001, when the Rev. George Regas of All Saints Church in Pasadena, California, brought together religious leaders and community members concerned about the United States’ emerging war posture in response to the terrorist attacks on the nation that day. 

From the beginning, ICUJP sought to build an interfaith community committed not simply to opposing war and violence, but to actively pursuing justice and peace. Its founding vision brought people from a range of religious traditions and backgrounds together around the belief that religious communities must stop blessing war and violence. 

For 25 years, ICUJP's backbone has been its Friday Forums: weekly gatherings that have now surpassed 1,200 meetings. These forums have provided a space for education, organizing, and — most importantly — building relationships across the broader community that serve to grow the reach of their advocacy work.  This organizing work has taken many forms, ranging from lobbying elected officials and participating in demonstrations to vigils, conferences, street theater, and civil disobedience. 

A Shared Commitment to End Torture 

ICUJP has been a longtime partner of NRCAT in the fight against torture. Following the opening of the detention camp at Guantánamo Bay in 2002, ICUJP began holding annual vigils and rallies on January 11, the day the facility opened, to call for its closure. NRCAT has been honored to stand alongside ICUJP over the years by participating in and co-sponsoring these local actions. 

As ICUJP reflects on 25 years of work and the ongoing legacy of 9/11, the organization is also looking toward the future. Stephen Rohde, a founding member of ICUJP who served as chair for 14 years, is stepping down from that role, with Anthony Manousos set to become chair on January 1, 2027. New leadership hopes to expand in-person and hybrid gatherings, revive their community outreach through regular justice luncheons, and of course continue to hold their long-running weekly Friday Forums as they work to strengthen the organization's advocacy. 

Despite the challenges of the past 25 years, Stephen remains hopeful. 

“We're proud of the work we've done,” he reflected in a recent conversation. “We might have wished that more peace, more justice could have been achieved, but ... we understand the realities of hatred and racism and bigotry. So we are in this for the long term.” 

He also described activism as “the antidote to hopelessness:” a reminder that lasting change begins with people coming together, building relationships, and continuing to act. 

Celebrate 25 years with ICUJP on September 26

Learn more about ICUJP by attending one of their Friday Forums, supporting their work, or attending the 2026 Rev. George C. Regas Courageous Peacemaker Awards, their 25th anniversary celebration coming up on Sunday, September 26 at All Saints Episcopal Church in Pasadena, CA. A virtual attendance option is also available! 

Thank you to our friends at ICUJP for 25 years of building community, pursuing justice and peace, and standing alongside NRCAT in the national movement to end torture. 

Toward a torture-free future,    

Rev. Ron Stief
Executive Director