KCIYA- Faith Always Wins Interfaith Leadership Blog

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...

When I recently had the wonderful opportunity to plan my own KCIYA service project, I had two things in mind: I wanted to reach across the aisle from my own Catholic identity, and somehow help the environment in the process. In my opinion, there is one place in Kansas City that encompasses both these ideals: Mitzvah Garden. So the service day was coordinated with the incredible Ken Sonnenschein and his team. For months, I pulled my hair out over logistics - who would show up, how many questions should I write, what do I wear? In mid-September, the time came. I drove to The Temple, Congregation B’nai Jehudah all the way in Overland Park. As soon as we parked, I experienced a wave of relief. I felt it would all go well. Thankfully, it did. We helped the garden prepare for winter by raking up the weed-preventing straw they put over tarps in rows that cover about a quarter of the garden. Then some of our group went to harvest and sort apples while a few others and I took the tarps...