Reuben Shank has spent his first month as executive director of the Marin Interfaith Council, the San Rafael nonprofit founded during the floods of 1982.

Shank, who described himself as "relatively new to Marin," outlined his priorities and the organization's 44-year history in an Oct. 1 newsletter posted to the MIC website.

He succeeds Rev. Scott Quinn, who led MIC for eight years before stepping down in November 2024. Rev. Lynn Oldham Robinett, an Episcopal priest who had worked at MIC for more than 25 years, served as interim director.

The council, based at 1510 Fifth Ave., traces its origins to two rabbis, a Presbyterian minister and a Methodist minister. They came together as synagogues and churches faced that winter's disaster side by side.

In the decades since, MIC expanded into housing and homelessness work and launched a street chaplaincy in the early 1990s. The council helped start the Marin Organizing Committee in 2009 to build shared power for housing and economic justice.

After the 2016 election, MIC created the Network of Accompaniment Congregations to support immigrant families in Marin. The following year it launched "Love Lives in Marin," an initiative that still works to confront hate and build belonging, according to Shank's newsletter.

The organization adopted a new mission statement in July 2026 after a two-year strategic process. Past board member Jeff Bialik and consultant Rabbi Henry Shreibman facilitated the effort. Board president Sidharth Kaw and board member Rabbi Elana Rosen-Brown announced the updated mission, which describes MIC as "a trusted convener that cultivates meaningful dialogue among the world's diverse faith traditions."

Shank acknowledged areas where the council has fallen short.

"We have our own pain points and growing edges, including racial justice, where some of us have been slower to show up, and our relationships with Indigenous neighbors who have too often been invisible to us," he wrote Oct. 1.

In a Sept. 15 introductory newsletter to MIC members, Shank described his leadership philosophy in personal terms: "I lead assuming everyone is suffering, everyone is healing, everyone is longing for connection."

Current MIC programs include forums, clergy luncheons, retreats, an annual prayer breakfast, evenings of sacred music and art, and monthly meditations. The organization also operates an Immigrant Rights Rapid Response Network that mobilizes faith-based volunteers.

Shank invited community members to share their own memories of MIC at [email protected], including from those who stepped away or saw things differently. MIC's next listed event is a virtual meditation with Barbara Buckley at 5:30 p.m. Oct. 14. More information is available at marinifc.org or 415-456-6957.