Change is still in the air and it is still blowing in our direction even though it is sometimes hard to read the patterns. The IJSO and guest lecturer Rabbi Josh Lesser taught the first full course ever at HUC on LGBT issues and Judaism on our Cincinnati campus in January. The students were active and engaged and gave high marks for the course.
In February and March, our two convenings in New York and Los Angeles for the LGBT Welcoming Synagogues Project brought together over 60 scholars, activists, community members and movement leaders from all the Jewish denominations, Secular Humanism, Renewal, Reform, Reconstructionist, Conservative and Orthodox. There were also subject matter experts from several Christian denominations as well as the Unitarian Universalist Association. There were synagogue change experts, LGBT inclusion pioneers and icons and average community members who just wanted to be a part of the process, so that they could take back some of the learnings to their home congregations. The energy and synergy was truly electrifying.
We are now in the process of synthesizing the data from our research work with the gleanings from the NY and LA convenings. This product will be the basis for the next aspect of the project which will be a pilot in several synagogues across the country. We are already receiving requests from congregations that want to be part of the first cohort.
I continue to travel and speak at synagogues on inclusion and other topics and am struck at how ready so many of them are to begin a journey to look at the meaning of inclusion for their particular community. As I have seen with the vagaries of California in terms of marriage equality and think about its impact on the wonderful surprises of Iowa and the New England states, I truly feel that while the winds of change may seem random at times, I have faith that they do indeed inevitably blow toward justice and righteousness.
The IJSO is also in the middle of a strategic planning process to help us map out our strategy for the next 3-5 years moving forward. Support for the process has been strong and we are gathering critical information to help us determine our future directions.
If you would like to learn more about the LGBT Welcoming Synagogues project or the Strategic Planning process, please do contact me. I look forward to sharing our work with you.
