KCIYA- Faith Always Wins Interfaith Leadership Blog

In the midst of this pandemic, I find it important to take time and connect with my friends and family. This situation is scary and even if you aren’t being directly impacted, it is likely that you know someone else who is. In times like this, I choose to be active in my community and do anything I can to help those in need: whether that is starting an online fundraiser for a family who is struggling or dropping off food and supplies for the elderly couple that lives next door. All the little things add up in the end, so keeping others in mind is crucial to help my community come out stronger. To keep myself grounded, I have been thinking about myself more and dedicating more time towards my own wellbeing. I have been able to read books that I have always wanted to read and bring my watercolor paints back out. These small changes have helped me enjoy myself amidst the chaos that lives outside of my house. I personally don’t like the lack of action I can take, but I have bec...

Greetings and salutations!  My name is Emma and I am a junior at Olathe South High School. In school I’m part of our Horticulture Club, I love spending time outdoors and learning about everything around me. I’m also a huge literature fan, my favorite pastimes often include reading and writing. I plan to major in Humanities in college with a minor in English.     I’m a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I believe that God is a separate and distinct being from His Son, Jesus Christ, and from the Holy Ghost. I believe that He loves us unconditionally and that His greatest desire is for all His children to return to live with Him again. I study from the Bible and the Book of Mormon. Like the Bible, the Book of Mormon contains sacred writings from followers of Jesus. Just like God spoke to Moses and Noah in the Bible, He also spoke to people in the Americas. My religious beliefs have taught me the power in service. I believe that th...

Sacred Foods: Loaves of bread that bring the community together The smell of raw dough waved through the air as we entered the home. I had never really cooked before, without anything burning, so this was a very new experience for me. I didn’t know what Challah was or even how it tasted before that day. We split up into groups of two do get someone on one time with the dough. The beautiful masterpiece of braided bread seemed like a daunting challenge that was impossible. The next hour was filled with laughter, fun, and steady instruction; by the time it ended, I had a perfect challah in front of me. While it baked in the oven, we went out to the garden to pick some crunchy pears. While eating them together, we discussed the traditions of Challah and how it relates to our own personal traditions. This experience not only taught me how to make delicious bread, but it gave me some personal insight into Jewish traditions. I learned about the different types of Jewish beli...

When I think of Malala Yousufzai, the first words that come to my mind are strong, empowering, and inspiring. At such a young age, Yousufzai became an activist for girls’ education, as well as a Nobel Peace Prize winner. She has inspired numerous girls to fight for their education and to not be afraid of the struggles that may lie in front of them. In the documentary ‘He Named Me Malala’, director Davis Guggenheim captured an exclusive view inside the Yousufzai household and of her determination to fight for girls’ education. Along with myself, two other board members of KCIYA were compelled to plan an event where Malala’s documentary was shown, to motivate members of the community to fight for a change. The event was planned for the evening of Friday, September 13. When all the other members arrived, we began with the guidelines of civil discourse and began streaming the documentary while chowing down on Spin! Pizza. After the movie was completed, we dove into the discussion...

Our recent visit to Cherith Brook Catholic Worker House provided growth on an emotional, mental, and physical level for me. During the planning process, I discovered how to plan and accommodate for a religiously diverse community.  Entering the house was different because the community was so welcoming. Their focus was on the feeling of community, rather than what community you came from. I had learned about the Catholic Worker movement through school and it was really cool to see that movement come to life. My belief is to do your best to help those in need at all times, in every community. Everyone, privileged and underprivileged can face times of need and it’s important to serve those who need it. Moving forward, I plan to continue serving those in need and reaching out to help Cherith Brook. Small acts of service filled with great love can make a huge difference in someone’s life. Our focus as humans should be to help others and affirm the gifts and inherent dignit...

   Today was insanely hot. I felt like I wanted to give up about 800 times but I managed to push through every time. I kept thinking about who we were helping and why. In all honesty, doing something for someone else's sake is a heck of a lot easier than doing something for myself-at least in the present time. In situations like these, maybe the motivator could be boiled down to a simple risk of shame or fear of disappointment, but I would like to believe it's the simple human kindness alive in my heart. In all honesty, being here can be incredibly hard. It's hard labor, learning new skills, and being uncomfortable with new routines. Physically at times. Emotionally at times. It's a place and experience that forces you into awakening and creating discomfort surrounding the luxury of our lifestyle, no matter how mundane you may consider your life to be. I always leave with a refreshed sense of place in the world alongside the people in it. This place is truly specia...

  I pulled into the parking lot of the Missouri Innovation Campus on a Tuesday afternoon in July, and, as I did so, I couldn’t help but admire the snazzy building that stood before me. My 2:30 (which ended up being a 3:00, so I was early, a lucky-strike-extra) was a quick meeting with our interfaith programming czar, Clare Stern. We mapped out our event space and checked A/V capabilities for what would be an evening of cinema and civil discourse. So, lots of circular tables, open space for cheesy icebreakers, a linear corridor for our buffet traffic, and fun rolling chairs were in order.  Readers may know that the Kansas City Interfaith Youth Alliance, Faith Always Wins Foundation, and Global Ties KC join forces for our Movie Night event series. Acknowledging that faith-based systems do not exist in a vacuum, our Movie Nights focus on the nonreligious factors that intersect our identities and shape our lived experiences. It’s always a pleasure to share a m...