CLICK ON Communicate!
Featured Entry of the Month...
INTERFAITH PROGRAM - LIFE CYCLES:
A CATHOLIC/JEWISH PERSPECTIVE (#1850)

See how one Union congregation is working
with its Christian neighbor to create community

From:
Temple B’nai Israel
4901 N. Pennsylvania Avenue, Oklahoma City, OK 73112
387 member households
Tel.: 405.848.0965 Fax: 405.848.0966
E-mail: tbi@nstar.net
Contact: Marsha Greiner

Building on our successful interfaith relationship with our local congregational church, we decided to attempt to bridge the gap between the Jews and the members of the Catholic church in our area. A committee of twenty people (ten from the temple, ten from the Catholic church) met and realized that they wanted to learn more about each other’s religion and beliefs before a discussion about controversial topics was undertaken. The springboard events were service exchanges between the two congregations. During the first year, programs were held about Weddings/Marriage: Catholic and Jewish Perspectives; Baptism and B’rit Milah: Catholic and Jewish Perspectives on Birth; Bar/Bat Mitzvah and Confirmation; Death, Dying, and Grieving Rituals: Perspectives on End of Life; and The Afterlife.

As a result of these dialogues, an unprecedented bond of mutual friendship and understanding has been established between the Catholic and Jewish faiths in our community. The dialogue is ongoing, and additional programs have taken place dealing with Liturgy; War, Pacifism, and Religion; and Keeping the Faith. A joint trip to Israel and Italy is also being explored.

RESOURCES: See a summary of the program and flyers. Visit our Web site and then click on Community and Interfaith.

For more information on interreligious activities, visit the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism’s Web site.

Communicate!, the easy-to-use, computerized encyclopedia of ideas, program expertise, contacts, and resources that is designed specifically for the Union and its member congregations, is a project of the Ida and Howard Wilkoff Department of Synagogue Management and is now fully available on the Web. Click on Communicate! to submit an idea or to access the Web site. For more information about Communicate!, please call the Communicate! Hot Line at 800.894.4735, fax 212.650.4239, or e-mail communicate@urj.org.