Interfaith Center of Greater Philadelphia

Walking the Walk

Walking the Walk is an initiative that provides teenagers with experiences, skills and resources necessary to live in a diverse world, deepen their own identities, and break through walls that distance and divide them from people of other religious, cultural and economic backgrounds.

Our Goals

Walking the Walk puts the Interfaith Center’s mission into action by working with and within partner congregations/schools to forge lasting partnerships to:

• Equip youth to have healthy relationships with diverse peers;
• Enable teenagers to join hands with others to help improve the world; and
• Help build communication and understanding among congregations of different faiths.

Our Model

Groups of high school youth selected from neighboring congregations gather 13 times during the school year for:

• Meaningful conversation: ask questions, deepen interfaith understanding and make friends
• Interfaith learning: explore shared values as well as distinctive traditions
• Community service: volunteer at a community-based agency
• Creative reflection: reflect on experiences through the arts

Currently, the Interfaith Center offers Walking the Walk groups in three geographical areas — Philadelphia, Northwest Philadelphia and Suburban West — partnering with 18 congregations/schools in the Philadelphia region. Each group of 15-20 high school students meets in one another’s communities. The groups are led by a group leader, two student alumni of the program and an artist-in-residence.

A National Movement

With the help and guidance of the Search Institute and the Interfaith Youth Core, Walking the Walk belongs to a nation-wide network of organizations that are committed to fostering healthy youth development and leadership in an interfaith context.