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By Matt Hilferty Interfaith Philadelphia  launched the  Crafting Community Project  in Kensington in the Fall of 2020. Through this neighborhood-rooted art and education initiative, we collaborated with organizations, faith communities, and neighbors to launch the  Kensington Grows, Cooks, and Serves , a multi-part series exploring the intersections of food, faith, and culture within the Kensington area. One component of this initiative is a  blog  interview series highlighting Kensington-based restaurants and grocers who demonstrate understanding, community-centeredness, and the celebration of diversity. For this final installment in the series, we sat down with  Sunny Phanthavong from Vientiane Bistro. 1. Tell us a little about your business. (e.g. Where are you located? When did you open? What do you serve/sell?) Vientiane Bistro is a Lao and Thai restaurant that opened in September 2018 at 2537 Kensington Avenue. We serve curries, noodle dishes, and fried rice along with appetizers

Interfaith Philadelphia launched the Crafting Community Project in Kensington in Fall 2020. Through this neighborhood-rooted art and education initiative, we collaborated with organizations, faith communities, and neighbors to launch the Kensington Grows, Cooks, and Serves series to explore the intersections of food, faith, and culture. One component of this initiative is a blog interview series highlighting Kensington-based restaurants and grocers who demonstrate understanding, community-centeredness, and the celebration of diversity.  This week we sat down with Anas Dabbour at Al-Amana Grocery Store at Al-Aqsa Islamic Society , to learn more about the store, hear about what community means to them, and the importance of food within the Islamic faith. What inspired you to get involved with Al-Amana Store? My Uncle opened the store 20 years ago when they opened Al-Aqsa Masjid and its community center. My siblings and I actually went to school here at Al-Aqsa Academy. My Dad had a p

By Matt Hilferty Interfaith Philadelphia  launched the  Crafting Community Project  in Kensington in the Fall of 2020. Through this neighborhood-rooted art and education initiative, we collaborated with organizations, faith communities, and neighbors to launch the  Kensington Grows, Cooks, and Serves , a multi-part series exploring the intersections of food, faith, and culture within the Kensington area. One component of this initiative is a  blog  interview series highlighting Kensington-based restaurants and grocers who demonstrate understanding, community-centeredness, and the celebration of diversity. This week we sat down with  Blew Kind, founder, and co-owner of Franny Lou's Porch. This interview was published in two parts. This is Part 2 of 2. 4.  In what way does your business help foster understanding and promote community relationships? Opening up a space for dialogue so we can understand each other. We do that from the inside out, we focus on dialogue heavily within our

By Matt Hilferty Interfaith Philadelphia  launched the  Crafting Community Project  in Kensington in Fall 2020. Through this neighborhood-rooted art and education initiative, we collaborated with organizations, faith communities, and neighbors to launch the  Kensington Grows, Cooks, and Serves , a multi-part series exploring the intersections of food, faith, and culture within the Kensington area. One component of this initiative is a blog interview series highlighting Kensington-based restaurants and grocers who demonstrate understanding, community-centeredness, and the celebration of diversity. This week we sat down with Blew Kind, the founder and co-owner of Franny Lou's Porch. This interview is Part 1 of 2. 1. Tell us a little about your business. (e.g. Where are you located? When did you open? What do you serve/sell?) Franny Lou’s Porch opened in 2015. We’re a coffee and tea house, and community space. We’re named after Frances E.W. Harper and Fannie Lou Hamer, both 19th and 2

By Matt Hilferty Interfaith Philadelphia  launched the  Crafting Community Project  in Kensington in Fall 2020. Through this neighborhood-rooted art and education initiative, we collaborated with organizations, faith communities, and neighbors to launch the  Kensington Grows, Cooks, and Serves , a multi-part series exploring the intersections of food, faith, and culture within the Kensington area. One component of this initiative is a blog interview series highlighting Kensington-based restaurants and grocers who demonstrate understanding, community-centeredness, and the celebration of diversity. This week we sat down with Mike Richards f rom Kensington Community Food Co-Op (KCFC).  KCFC Introduction: Kensington Community Food Co-op is a mission-based organization created to sustain a thriving, healthy community, a vibrant cooperative economy, an active and engaged membership, and a community educated in social, economic, and food justice. 1. Tell us a little about your business. (e.g.

Recently, two of our staff members had the opportunity to complete an 8-month Executive Certificate in Social Impact Strategy from the Center for Social Impact Strategy at the University of Pennsylvania. Read on for more about the experience Bronwen  (our Director of Curricular Innovation ) had in the program, and about the new upcoming certificate in Faith and Social Impact .  I wasn’t sure exactly what to expect when I enrolled in the Penn Social Impact Strategy certificate program. I was drawn to the program right away as a space in which I could get the structured support I needed to map a new professional effort. Many of the excellent aspects of the program did not surprise me - for example, top quality teaching instruction and accessible, flexible, and engaging content. But I also wanted to share some of the great things I wasn’t expecting: Nurturing Environment What I wasn’t expecting was the nurturing environment that held the program. I discovered a community of support in f

  Many essential truths that help deepen and expand our minds and spirits are present in many religions. One example is the teaching of the Golden Rule. This essential spiritual truth is at the heart of many of our faith traditions:  Baháʼí : " He should not wish for others that which he doth not wish for himself, nor promise that which he doth not fulfill." (Bahá'u'lláh, Kitab-I-Iqan, p. 194 Buddhism: "Treat not others in ways that you would find hurtful." (Udana-Varga , 5:18 Christianity: "In everything, do to others as you would have them do to you for this is the law and the prophets." (Matthew 7:12)  Hinduism: "This is the sum of duty: do not do to others what would cause pain if done to you". (Mahabharata 5:1517)    Islam: "Not one of you truly believes until you wish for others what you wish for yourself." (The Prophet Muhammad, Hadith) Jainism: "One should treat all creatures in the world as one would like to be tr

I am a person who finds myself at home in many worlds and, therefore, in none of them. I'm sure that this statement is true of everyone in some way or another. This is especially true for me when it comes to different ways of knowing. I am a senior in college majoring in Religion and Psychology. This combination of disciplines means that I have been formally exposed to vastly different ways of conceiving of knowledge and how to come about it. Going from one class to another sometimes feels like it should require a passport to enter into another world.  The reason that I chose to study both Religion and Psychology is that I find both fascinating and meaningful. They both resonate with ways that I had already learned to understand the world from my religious family and my academic surroundings. However, as I learn more about each way of knowing, I notice how each one seems to belittle the other. Where scientific spaces frequently seem to turn up their noses at religious knowledge, di