Interfaith Center of Greater Philadelphia

Walking the Walk

North West Philadelphia Group

The Interfaith Center is partnering with NIM to bring Walking the Walk to Northwest Philadelphia.  The Neighborhood Interfaith Movement (NIM) is a nonprofit, non-sectarian organization that since 1969 has assisted children, families, and vulnerable and older adults. Acting in alliance with NIM's 53 Protestant, Catholic, Jewish, Unitarian, and Muslim congregations and faith institutions, volunteers and professionals work to fulfill NIM's mission "to build a more just and sensitive community through advocacy and service."

The Northwest Philadelphia Group was comprised of high school students from seven congregations: three synagogues, two churches, and two mosques. Students from these communities gathered 12 times over the school year to engage in meaningful conversation with one another, explore similarities and differences of one another’s religious traditions and work with children and adults residing at Stenton Family Manor, a temporary shelter for homeless people.

Group Leaders

Stephen Danley, Neighborhood Interfaith Center, led this group.

Student Group Leaders

Eric Anderson
Kashif Hakim Dais
Kyra Sutton

Highlights of the year included:

• Volunteering at Kaysim-Court – The group spent time with disabled residents of Kaysim-Court. They sang karaoke, played, cards, did oral histories, and snacked.
• Collage with Arts & Spirituality Center Artist – Youth let their artistic juices flow, creating tiles with Kaysim-Court Friends, depicting the shared value of “love your neighbor” (pictured right).
• Creating an Interfaith School – Tasked with the challenge of building an interfaith school, the youth explored the complexities involved when considering the customs of multiple faiths. They had to take into account foods, facilities, school calendar, dress code, daily prayer, and gender specific classrooms.

Special Community Partner

Neighborhood Interfaith Movement 

Service Learning Partner

Kaysim-Court, Philadelphia: Kaysim-Court Manor is a personal care home that helps elderly, disabled, ill, and mentally challenged persons live in residential care facilities instead of health facilities. Kaysim-Court provides meals, personal services, and companionship for people who are not bedridden, but need some supervision and help with daily personal needs.

Congregational Partners:

The Congregational Partners served a number of functions for the group, including:

• Recruiting participating youth for the year-long program;
• Providing a mentor who accompanies the youth and offers guidance and assistance;
• Hosting at least one session and providing a tour of the worship space.

The eight Congregational Partners for the Northwest Philadelphia group are:

First United Methodist Church of Germantown, Germantown

Germantown Jewish Centre, Germantown

Masjid Muhammad, Philadelphia

Masjidullah, Philadelphia

Mishkan Shalom, Philadelphia

Mount Airy Church of God in Christ, Philadelphia

Mount Zion Baptist Church of Germantown, Germantown

In pairs, students discussed meaningful objects and symbols of their religious traditions and then wrote poems about what their partners shared.

Photo Gallery of the 2007-08 Northwest Philadelphia Group

Highlights from the 2006-2007