Peace Be Still, by Rev. Dr. LaKeisha Cook, Executive Director, Virginia Interfaith Center
Peace Be Still, by Rev. Dr. LaKeisha Cook, Executive Director, Virginia Interfaith Center There is a story told in my faith tradition about a storm that arises on the sea as a group was...
Virginia Interfaith Welcomes Rev. Dr. LaKeisha Cook as New Executive Director
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASEApril 1, 2025 Richmond, VA – The Board of Directors of the Virginia Interfaith Center for Public Policy (VICPP) is pleased to announce that Reverend Dr. LaKeisha Cook has been appointed as...
With Gratitude and Hope: A Celebration of Kim Bobo’s Legacy
Enjoy this slideshow highlighting the celebration of Kim Bobo’s nine years of service as executive director of the Virginia Interfaith Center at the Hippodrome Theatre in Richmond on April 3. Friends, family members, faith...
“My intention is to use my power and my position, wherever it is, to make this world better.” – Rev. Dr. LaKeisha Cook
By, Margaret Edds The Rev. Dr. LaKeisha Cook smiled at several hundred participants attending the annual Day for All People legislative lobbying day of the Virginia Interfaith Center for Public Policy this past January. Then,...
Making new connections at Student Day of Action
By, Jeff Tsai Multimedia Intern, Virginia Interfaith Center for Public Policy (Photo: VICPP interns meet with Delegate Betsy Carr – in the middle – including author Jeff Tsai – second from right) In early...
My Research: Yes In God’s Backyard
This past month and a half, I have been researching ‘Yes in God’s Backyard” (YIGBY) initiatives throughout the country. YIGBY builds upon the research I did this summer on church congregations using their underutilized...
Reflections on the summer: Affordable Housing
Grace Randolph has been an intern through InterVarsity for Summer 2023. She is a rising second-year at the University of Richmond, majoring in Journalism. Over the last few months, she’s been able to do...
Reflections on the summer: Maternal Health and Civic Engagement
Aleshia Williams has been an intern through InterVarsity in Summer 2023. She is a rising third-year student at UVA, majoring in African and African American Studies. Over the last few months, she’s been able...
Putting myself in their shoes. / They bowed. They knelt. But they never rose.
Just days ago, on Jan. 30, 2023, 400 Muslims gathered to pray in a mosque in Peshawar, Pakistan, which sits along the border of Afghanistan. Unsuspecting worshipers raised their hands and recited Allahu Akbar,...
What is wage theft, anyway?
Over the long holiday weekend, I went to a family reunion… the first we’ve had in over two years. Of course, we shared lots of life updates, including my job here at VICPP. I...

Beyond Birth: Maternal health realities before and after the delivery room
In 2020, Delegate Marcia Price (95th District) boldly introduced a resolution in the House of Delegates to establish the observance of July as Maternal Health Awareness Month in Virginia. Responding to the alarming number...
My Ramadan, My Islam: Ramadan’s Interfaith Roots
Against the backdrop of VICPP team members observing the holiest days of their different faith traditions, VICPP Director of Communications Ayesha Gilani Taylor offers her perspective in a blog post as a Muslim observing...

Together in Faith – By Sheila Herlihy, Dora Muhammad, Ayesha Taylor
We are in the middle of Passion Week, or Holy Week. This is a unique season wherein the three Abrahamic faiths observe one of their most sacred days in their respective traditions. Maundy Thursday...
The budget is a moral document
On stewardship weekend in congregations all over Virginia, many of us have heard preaching about how our household budget needs to reflect our values and priorities. This means we give out of our personal...
Archbishop Desmond Tutu: A Beacon for Truth and Racial Equity
by Dora Muhammad, VICPP Congregation Engagement Director The many hours I spent poring through the seven-volume report of South Africa’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission drew me close to the mind and heart of its...

Music Connecting Neighbors
On the evening of November 13th, VICPP Board Member Hurunnessa Fariad taught a group of congregants at Adas Israel Congregation in Washington, D.C. an Afghan song. Invited by the synagogue’s music director, Micah Hendler,...

Faith in Democracy
by Dora Muhammad, VICPP Congregation Engagement Director, Health Equity Program Manager As I worked the polls at Fannie Fitzgerald Elementary School in Prince William County on Election Day yesterday, I reflected on the legacy...

The Personal Loss that Centers Our Public Push for Birth Equity
by Dora Muhammad, Congregation Engagement Director, Health Equity Program Manager I have a teddy bear that a relative gave me when she was a little girl. It was given to her when she was...

Remembering Rev. Fletcher Lowe, an original founder of VICPP and former executive director
Fletcher In His Own Words: Read, “A pilgrimage not to be forgotten,” an essay published March 2020 in the Richmond Times-Dispatch on his pilgrimage to the National Memorial for Peace and Justice in Montgomery....
Sacred Memories: Confronting Historic Racial and Religious Violence to Counter Contemporary Injustices
By Dora Muhammad, Congregation Engagement Director, Health Equity Program Manager On May 1, 1865, formerly enslaved Blacks in Charleston, S.C. honored 257 Union soldiers who had been buried in a mass grave in a...