Intensive Learning @ MFS
The World At Your Fingertips
On the last day of our Intensive Learning program we went to the GCLEA in Cherry Hill. We had a tour in the mosque. The mosque was big, with two prayer rooms, a children’s room, a library, a kitchen, and more. When we entered, we met Imam John Starling, who hosted us for our...
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On Wednesday, we had breakfast at the Reading Terminal Market and walked around Philadelphia; we made our way to Congregation Mikveh Israel. Although it may at first seem like an average place of worship, it has a deep and interesting history. Congregation Mikveh Israel was established in 1740 and is one of the first...
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Today was the service day for our Intensive Learning at Moorestown First Baptist Church Food Pantry. At 8:30 in the morning, we had a brief meeting at the field house discussing our plan for the day with Mrs. Barna and Mrs. Pande. Our plan was to bake cookies and brownies and attach appreciative notes...
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Today, we had the pleasure of visiting the historic Christ Church in Philadelphia. It is an Episcopal church, located by the Delaware near Market St. The Christ Church tradition welcomes all people, from all walks of life, wherever they are on their journey of faith. In the courtyard at the entrance, there were multiple...
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Hey everyone! Today in Sacred Spaces, we visited the largest Hindu temple in the United states, the BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir in Robbinsville, NJ, with Mrs. Mitali Pande and Mrs. Gail Barna. It’s an amazing environment that helped us immerse ourselves in Hindu art, architecture, culture, and inspiring thoughts. At the campus entrance, we...
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When we got to Philadelphia, our first stop was at a familiar place: a Quaker Meeting House. The guide welcomed us into Arch Street Meeting House, and shared a bit of history about the meeting. After we walked to Christ Church, a pivotal historical, religious landmark in Philadelphia. Many important historical figures of the...
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We started off the day with a Buddhist faith encounter. At the Chenrezig Tibetan Buddhist Center of Philadelphia, our guide talked to us about the Buddha and how he lived his life. The Buddha taught people to live the concepts of Buddhism rather than simply study them. We also practiced a bit of meditation...
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Today we traveled to both the Penn Museum of Archaeology and Reading Terminal Market. While we were at the museum, we learned about early humans in Mesopotamia and other regions. We learned about how early human civilizations evolved and how their belief systems developed. For lunch, we went to the Reading Terminal Market. There...
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Today, our group went to Wissinoming Park in Philadelphia to help them clean up to make their park a welcoming environment. Our group took on three different tasks: students weeded and mulched, students collected trash, and students prepared a garden bed for spring planting. Everyone worked hard and the park looked much better afterwards....
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Today, we visited Bait-ul-Aafiyat Mosque after having an introduction workshop at the Philadelphia Interfaith Center. At the center, we first participated in ice breaker activities, such as story builders. After, the topics got more serious, as we discussed questions to ask at sacred spaces, and what makes an appropriate comment and what makes an...
Continue readingToday we traveled to the Interfaith Center in Philadelphia to learn about what the organization does for the community. We learned that one component of their work is to use art as a means of connecting with people of different faiths. We participated in two activities at the center. The first was an activity...
Continue readingToday we hit the road and ventured to the Philadelphia Art Museum, and climbed the Rocky stairs. During our stay at the museum we learned about different forms and features of Islamic art. We learned about how they were sometimes forbidden from depicting the images of humans on their artwork, so they instead included...
Continue readingToday we were warmly welcomed into the home of a follower of the Baha’i faith. She was from Iran and was very courteous and offered us breakfast. After we were settled we were introduced thoroughly to the Baha’i faith with a PowerPoint that she built. We learned about basic principles and religion in the...
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We started off our day with making a stop at Wawa to fuel for the adventure ahead. We met Chelsea Jackson from the Interfaith Center of Philadelphia for our service component with CosaCosa at the Alexander K. McClure Elementary School. We looked at the beautiful murals that the graduating fifth grade class has made...
Continue readingWe concluded our exploration of Sacred Spaces with a an enjoyable visit to the Penn Museum. The museum has three floors of gallery space that feature materials from the ancient Mediterranean World, Egypt, the Near East, Mesopotamia, East Asia, and Mesoamerica. You can also find artifacts from the indigenous peoples of Africa and Native...
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