Related Blog Posts on Audacious Hospitality, Racial Equity, Diversity, & Inclusion, and Strengthening Congregations

What Makes a Community? It's the People

Rabbi Esther L. Lederman
A few years ago, when my son was still pretty young, we were heading out to participate in Friday night services for families with young children. When he asked where we were heading, I said, "We're going to Temple Micah." We weren't going to the building on Wisconsin Avenue that is Temple Micah, we were heading to a local coffee shop and bookstore where services were being held. But to me, that was Temple Micah. The people we would see, the feeling we would get by being together - all of that was Temple Micah - not the temple building itself.

Rosa Parks's Legacy Endures Today

Israel Harris
Shayna Han
Many Americans remember Rosa Parks as the tired seamstress who refused to move to the back of a bus, but Rosa Parks is much more than that story. Though she did not identify as Jewish, her life reflected a commitment to we might identify as tikkun olam – repairing what is broken in our world. Here are three key insights from Rosa Parks’s life we can bear in mind as Black History Month begins.

The 4 Best Principles of Congregational Governance

Amy Asin
Rabbi Esther L. Lederman
According to conventional wisdom, congregations will look different in 10-15 years. If this is the case, we need leadership that can come together to actively create our future. Otherwise, we will be reacting passively to forces and trends, and are less likely to be successful.

Bring Your Words to Life: Making Online Worship Accessible

Sheri Denkensohn-Trott
I write about International Day of Persons with Disabilities (December 3, 2021) as a quadriplegic wheelchair user and as a Jewish woman accustomed to advocating for physical inclusion in places of worship. I am all too familiar with common barriers to access and have offered potential solutions.

Reflecting on Transgender Awareness Week in 2021

Hannah Bender
Eliana Rubin
Kelly Whitehead
Rachel Klein
Transgender Awareness Week is a chance to educate the public. It is important for people who are not part of the trans community to understand the oppression transgender and gender-expansive people face every day. While it is always important to affirm trans identities, Transgender Awareness Week provides an opportunity to center the voices of trans and gender-expansive people.

Hineini-Here I Am: Join Our Racial Justice Campaign

Yolanda Savage-Narva
In response to the current racial reckoning as well as to centuries of oppression and systemic racism towards Black and Brown people in this country, on April 28, 2021, the Reform Movement launched a Racial Justice Campaign. Learn about this campaign and how you can join in these efforts.

Clergy and Professionals Need a Break in October

Amanda Orgel Ferguson
My rabbi has explained that, after the Jewish month of Tishrei—which includes Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, Sukkot, and Sh’mini Atzeret-Simchat Torah—we have the month of Cheshvan, with no holiday other than Shabbat. Rabbi Block and I find great wisdom in this reality: We need a time of rest, symbolized by Shabbat, this Cheshvan, which significantly overlaps with October.