Community News, June 1
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UPCOMING SHABBAT Bat Mitzvah of Uma Frost-Hausman This Saturday Uma Frost-Hausman, daughter of David Frost and Stefanie Hausman, will be called to the Torah as a bat mitzvah. Please join us in celebrating with Uma and her family, and welcome Uma as a member of our community. Mazel tov! SONG OF MIRIAM AWARDS BRUNCH, JUNE 5 AT 10 AM Sunday, June 5
Photo of Susan Lazareck taken by Donna Kleinman Havurah is excited to honor Susan Lazareck with this year's Song of Miriam Award. Susan and her husband Jack have been a part of the Havurah community for 30 years, and Susan has worn many hats during this time. Read more about Susan here. CONGREGATIONAL MEETING, JUNE 5 AT 2 PM Sunday, June 5 At our April 17 Congregational Meeting, we learned about the Gesher (Governance and Staffing Recommendations) team recommendations. The Gesher team was charged to consider and propose a new governance structure and operational framework to help Havurah carry forward our strategic plan and meet the needs and goals of our congregational community. The Gesher team's data gathering completed earlier this year identified issues around the manageability of volunteer leadership roles, confusion about our decision-making structure, and the need to focus the Steering Committee on policy and strategy issues vs. operational ones. The team decided to follow the framework in Havurah's Long Range Plan and to concentrate Havurah’s organizational structure on these focus areas – Kehillah (Community), Avodah (Spiritual Life), Limud (Lifelong Learning), Hadracha (Governance) and Tikkun Olam. Read more and submit your comments here. ALTER ROCKERS MEET AT MISSION THEATER, JUNE 5 AT 5 PM Following the Congregational Meeting, Havurah Alter Rockers will migrate to the Mission Theater, 1624 NW Glisan St, for the 5:30 pm showing of "Dirty Dancing." The theater opens at 5:00 and sells beer and pub food. Interested in the movie? Email Roberta Michaels. Want to add your name and email to the Alter Rockers list for regular updates? Email Sarah Rosenberg. MEMOIR READINGS FROM A JEWISH PERSPECTIVE
Havurah's popular annual Memoir Readings Kabbalat Shabbat is just around the corner! Come hear Nancy Becker, Robbin DeWeese, Dorothy Dworkin, Bob Epstein, Beth Kaye, Buff Neretin, Lisa Rackner, and Rob Freedman read from their memoirs on Friday, June 10, at 7:00 pm. For many years now, Rob Freedman's "Memoir Writing from a Jewish Perspective" workshop has helped participants discover the stories they want to write and share. The emphasis is on those experiences that are uniquely Jewish in nature, reflective of our culture and identity – whether the writers are Jews by birth or by choice, or among the still perplexed. The evening will begin with a short Kabbalat Shabbat service and will be followed by a potluck dessert oneg. If you plan to attend, please RSVP here by June 6. 4 MORE CHANCES TO ADD YOUR VOICE TO OUR FUTURE You have four more chances to meet the Havurahniks in your neighborhood and discuss Havurah’s future! Please SIGN UP HERE for one of these intimate, invigorating meetings on June 2 or 14 in NE Portland, June 7 in NW Portland, or June 9 in SE Portland. Click here for the addresses of the meetings.
These small group discussions are not fundraising events but conversations about how to ensure Havurah Shalom’s long-term sustainability as a beautiful, vibrant Jewish community while remaining true to the egalitarian, respectful relationships that serve as our community’s foundation. The discussions will inform how we conduct our "Give Back to the Future" endowment campaign. Watch these short videos to learn why your fellow Havurahniks want to Give Back to the Future! LEARN HOW YOU CAN HELP UNACCOMPANIED MINORS FROM CENTRAL AMERICA Sunday, June 12 Erika, an unaccompanied child seeking asylum, fled violence in Central America. Until last month, when she turned 18, Erika was supported by Morrison Center's Micasa program, which works with Central American refugees. Now that she has aged out of Micasa’s program, she will no longer receive support them. Erika’s current foster family will support her until the beginning of August. After that, she will need a home until her asylum case is resolved. If no one offers her a home, Erika could be sent to the Tacoma Detention Center. We hope that our community can find resources to support Micasa graduates such as Erika and keep them out of the detention center, which is essentially a privately run prison.
In partnership with the Morrison Center and the Interfaith Movement for Immigrant Justice, we have identified volunteer opportunities working with unaccompanied children. Read more here. The above photo from Time is of young refugees from Central America being detained at the border between Texas and Mexico. PORTLAND HOMELESS FAMILY SOLUTIONS (PHFS) – GOOSE HOLLOW SHELTER HAVURAH DIRECT SERVICE PROJECT NEWS Based on a calculation using the most recent U.S. Department of Education’s count of homeless children in U.S. public schools and on 2013 U.S. Census data:
Join other Havurahniks at Goose Hollow to expand the experiences of these children, widening their "village." Children of any age are allowed to come volunteer with a parent or guardian. Upcoming Goose Hollow volunteer orientations: June 13 and June 20, 5:00 to 6:00 pm, at Goose Hollow, 1838 SW Jefferson. You can park behind the church. No orientation is needed to help with the dinner meal. For more information about the meal planning, please contact Len Shapiro. For general PHFS info, contact Gloria Halper. MOMS DEMAND ACTION RALLY The evening will commemorate Hadiyah Pendleton and all the other young people who have tragically lost their lives to gun violence. Those gathered will proceed to the Morrison Bridge, which will be illuminated in orange light. LOST BOYS OF PORTLANDIA Tuesday, June 7 Outside the Frame presents "The Lost Boys of Portlandia," a new documentary featuring the real lost children of Portland. In a riff on Peter Pan, homeless youth debate if and how to return to mainstream society while creating their own film version of the iconic story. The evening will include original film shorts by homeless youth and a Q&A with the filmmakers. Reserve your FREE ticket at otfpdx.bpt.me.
This event is sponsored by Havurah Shalom. Outside the Frame, directed by former Havurah High School Teacher Nili Yosha, offers film workshops to marginalized youth and video production services to organizations that need a voice. Preview the film here. MORNING MINYAN & LEADERSHIP LEARNING NEXT WEDNESDAY In addition to our 8:30 am Morning Minyan next Wednesday, we'll have a community minyan leadership learning session Wednesday night, led by Rabbi Joey. Leadership Learning Session If you're interested in learning how to lead Morning Prayers at a Saturday Community Minyan, join us next Wednesday night as Rabbi Joey provides guidance for current and future leaders. If you haven't already RSVPed, please RSVP to Maria Lisa Johnson so we know how many people plan to come. Please arrive by 7:00 pm on the dot, and bring a recording device so you'll have reference material for the future. Wonderful women have already signed up, but we would love to add the voices of a few good men. Check out Rabbi Joey's article in Hakol, Boys Will Be Men, for inspiration. PORTLAND JEWISH FILM FESTIVAL, JUNE 15-29 Havurah Shalom is one of the sponsors of the this year's Portland Jewish Film Festival, which is produced by the Northwest Film Center and co-presented with the Institute for Judaic Studies. Learn about and see clips of this year's films on the Portland Jewish Film Festival website. While the Festival specifically celebrates the diversity of Jewish history, culture, and identity, Festival planners hope that these films, and the stories they tell, resonate beyond their settings and speak to universal experiences and issues that confront our common humanity.
Presented annually since 1992 in partnership with the Institute for Judaic Studies, the Portland Jewish Film Festival celebrates the diversity of Jewish history, culture, and identity while speaking to the universal experiences and issues that confront all humanity. PRIDE PARADE - MARCH WITH HAVURAH ON SUNDAY, JUNE 19 Why will you march with Havurah this year? Is it because:
Whatever your reason, come and march with us at Pride. The parade leaves W Burnside and NW Park at 11:00 am. (Our actual "step off" time will be known the week of the parade.) It’s a flat, 1.5-mile walk ending at the Pride Festival, at the waterfront. Please RSVP here. For more information, contact Sandy Ramirez. - Evan King 20 DAYS OF SPRING AHEAD Summer doesn't start until June 20, so you still have 20 days of spring to send us your hopes for the new year, which began at Passover with the first month of the Jewish calendar, Nisan. You can mail your postcard or click here to choose one or two hopes. Many thanks to all of you who have mailed a postcard or answered online already. It's inspiring to hear from all of you! And thank you to Hannah Westerman, who created the colorful letter and postcard designs pictured below.
LET'S TAKE A DEEP BREATH ON BDS Mitchell Plitnick His writing has appeared in Ha’aretz, the New Republic, the Jordan Times, Middle East Report, the San Francisco Chronicle, +972 Magazine, Outlook, and other outlets. He was a columnist for Tikkun Magazine, Zeek Magazine and Souciant. He has spoken across the country on Middle East politics, and regularly offers commentary through a wide range of radio and television outlets including PBS News Hour, the O’Reilly Factor and CNBC Asia. PORTLAND THORNS VS SEATTLE REIGN Join us at Providence Park as the Portland Thorns take on the Seattle Reign. We have our own Havurah section reserved on the south end of the field. Get Fired Up! Pick up your family’s dinner and make new Havurah friends as you watch the Thorns and contribute to your favorite synagogue! Adults - $54 DON’T WAIT – We sold out all of our seats last year and are limited to 60 Thorns fans for the game. Click here to reserve your seats. ACCEPTING APPLICATIONS FOR RABBI THROUGH JUNE Based on information from all who participated in Havurah’s rabbi search survey and focus groups, Havurah Shalom has posted this job description on our website for the position of rabbi. Applications for the position will be accepted through June 30, 2016. The new rabbi’s start date will be August 1, 2017. All inquiries about the job should be directed to Rabbi Joel Alpert, Director of the Reconstructionist Rabbinical Placement Center. His contact number is 215-576-0800 ext 304. Please do not send resumes to the committee! Learn more and see the committee’s timeline here. |
