Chesapeake

Oseh Shalom to Host Shabbat Iyyun: "Faith-based Initiatives and the Perils of Government Funding"

Lisa Tuttle — Thu, 15 May 2008 14:39:54 -0400

When: Friday, May 23, 8 PM
Where: Oseh Shalom, 7515 Olive Branch Way, Laurel, MD

This special evening at Oseh Shalom is third in a series featuring intellectual inquiry woven into the Friday evening service.

Featured speakers from The Interfaith Alliance (TIA) are Ari Geller, Director of Communications, and Preet Singh, Deputy Director of Public Policy. TIA is a nonpartisan organization whose goal is to promote the positive and healing role of religion in public life.

Speakers will address the complex and timely issues surrounding faith-based initiatives or charitable choice proposals — legal, ethical and practical ways for faith organizations and government to work together to remedy societal ills.

Services and presentation 8 - 9 PM. Oneg/dessert and discussion to follow.

For additional information and directions, call (301) 498-5151 or www.oseh-shalom.org.

Tikkun Olam Concert with Craig Taubman at Oseh Shalom

Lisa Tuttle — Wed, 02 Apr 2008 10:39:53 -0400

When: Saturday night, April 5th, 8:00 p.m.
Where: Oseh Shalom Congregation, Laurel, MD.

Craig TaubmanCraig Taubman, a renowned singer and songwriter, will be giving a concert at Oseh Shalom dedicated to Tikkun Olam! This concert is being sponsored by Oseh Shalom Congregation including the Music & Arts Fund, the Social Action Committee, the Mens' Club and the Sisterhood; and Chesapeake Region JRF, Adat Shalom and Beit Tikvah. This concert is appropriate for adults, teens and families.

Download the attached event flyer and help spread the word!

In honor of Pesach all proceeds from ticket sales will be given to Mazon and Darfur Relief. We will request an $18 donation for adults and a $10 donation for children 10 and under at the door. Checks for tickets can be made out to Oseh Shalom and sent to Jackie Land at 8409 Snowden Loop Ct., Laurel, MD 20708.

If you would like to help sponsor this great concert, please contact Jackie Land at jljrf@aol.com or 301-206-3332.

We hope you will join us for this great evening!

Chesapeake JRF Afternoon of Celebration and Honor on Sunday, March 16

Jackie Land — Tue, 19 Feb 2008 15:12:32 -0500

The Chesapeake JRF Regional Council, the Afternoon of Honor Committee, and Chespeake Regional Director Jackie Land are excited to announce the Chesapeake JRF Afternoon of Honor and Celebration, on March 16, 2008 at Savage Mill at 4:30 p.m. We are looking forward to a great event of regional celebration followed by dinner and a social hour.

Invitations have been mailed out. We encourage safe and easy online registrations

This year we are thrilled to be honoring the following honorees from our Chesapeake Region congregations:

Adam Reese and Rich Scissors from Oseh Shalom
Judy Young from Columbia Jewish Congregation
Lisa and Steve Libowitz from Beit Tikvah
Garry Grossman, Josh Levin and Carol Bloomberg from Adat Shalom
Beila Organic from the Reconstructionist Havurah of Greater Washington and
Janet Davis from Mishkan Torah

We are also very excited to be honoring our Regional Cantors and Cantorial soloists with the Tzadik Award for all they do to fill our congregations with music and spirituality: Cantors Charlie Bernhardt, Rachel Hersh Epstein, Phil Greenfield, Jan Morrison and Diane Wacks.

We will be presenting a very special award, the Yehudit Award for Creativity and Leadership, to our Regional President John Riehl. John has been instrumental in making our region vibrant and filled with programming for more than 8 years. This is his final year as president, and we want to honor him for all he has done and will continue to do to make this region the special place that it is.

Plan to celebrate with all these great people and join members of the region for celebration and dinner to honor the achievements and successes of the Chesapeake Region of the Jewish Reconstructionist Federation. If you are not able to join us for this celebration, please put a message in our Tribute Journal to share your congratulations with all of our special honorees. Share your personal messages and help support JRF.

Presidential Candidates Forum at Oseh Shalom in Laurel, MD

Lisa Tuttle — Wed, 23 Jan 2008 11:53:24 -0500

Start: Jan 27 2008 - 3:00pm

End: Jan 27 2008 - 4:30pm

Please join congregation Oseh Shalom in Laurel, MD, on Sunday, January 27 at a Public Forum to discuss issues with representatives from the Democratic and Republican Presidential campaigns.

With the Maryland Presidential Primary taking place Tuesday, February 12, this is a great opportunity to hear from candidate representatives about the issues, ask questions, and review campaign materials. Bring friends and neighbors! Doors open at 2:30 pm.

Help get the word out! Download and post the event flyer attached to this announcement.

For more details, contact member Mark Cook at: mark@markcook.com or (240) 554-2231.

Senior representatives of the Maryland campaigns for Senator Clinton, Senator Edwards, and Senator Obama (Democrats) and Governor Huckabee, Senator McCain and Governor Romney (Republicans) will be there.

Invitations were sent to and accepted by the Democratic and Republican campaigns of the top three winners in the Iowa and New Hampshire primaries.

Speakers/representatives known as of this date:

Scott Sokol, Co-Chair, Baltimore County/Baltimore City for Edwards
Douglas Gansler, Maryland Attny. Gen., Co-Chair Obama for President, Maryland
Delegate Tony McConkey, MD House Deputy Minority Whip
Louis M. Pope, Co-Chair Romney for President, Maryland

Oseh Shalom is located off Van Dusen Road, between Laurel Regional Hospital and the Laurel Fire Deparment. For directions and in case of inclement weather, go to the website: www.oseh-shalom.org, or call Oseh Shalom at 301-498-5151.

PEARL: Providing Education and Resources for Leadership

Isaac Saposnik — Tue, 22 Jan 2008 15:39:54 -0500

As part of its North American Leadership Series, JRF is proud to present PEARL: Providing Education and Resources for Leadership. Throughout the coming months, we will offer a series of conference calls on a wide variety of topics important to congregational leaders. Topics range from dues structures and running a successful fundraising event to growth and volunteer development to the rabbi-congregation relationship and using Reconstructionism in synagogue processes, and more. These real-time distance learning sessions will be facilitated by a senior member of the JRF staff and will include best practices from selected congregations.

We are pleased to provide this service free-of-charge to all JRF affiliates. It is our belief that by providing congregational leaders with the resources and experiences needed for growth, each of our communities – and the Reconstructionist movement as a whole – will benefit.

Click here for registration and a full list of offerings.

For more information, please contact Isaac Saposnik at isaposnik@jrf.org

Brit Tzedek v'Shalom to Stage Rally in Support of Peace Conference

Rabbi Shai Gluskin — Mon, 26 Nov 2007 16:01:53 -0500

The Jewish peace group Brit Tzedek v'Shalom is staging a rally to support the Israeli/Palestinian peace talks which begin in Annapolis, Maryland, tomorrow. Brit Tzedek writes:

For the first time in six and a half years, we actually have real diplomacy happening, led by the United States! And you have a chance to be a part of history! Join Brit Tzedek, along with many other pro-Israel, pro-peace groups, and rally for Israeli-Palestinian peace in Annapolis!

When: Tuesday, Nov. 27th, 1-3pm
Where: Annapolis, MD

No'ar Hadash Eastern Teen Kallah ~ Dec. 14-16, 2007

ASklover — Thu, 08 Nov 2007 12:14:40 -0500

Hey 8th -12th graders!!!

This is Alanna Sklover, your No’ar Hadash regional intern, and I am super-excited to say that it’s that time of year again… Ok, besides the World Series—It’s time to sign-up for the 2007 No’ar Hadash Eastern Teen Kallah! This year, we’ll be meeting up at Capital Camps in scenic Waynesboro, PA with Reconstructionist Teens from across Virginia, DC, Maryland, Delaware, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and New York for a weekend full of laughing, praying, singing, learning, hanging out, and so much more! Here’s the info…

No’ar Hadash Eastern Teen Kallah
December 14-16, 2007 @ Capital Camps
$175 ~ Register by/before November 20th 2007
$195 ~ Register after November 20th 2007

If you or your family has any questions about the Eastern Kallah, I would love to talk about them. You can reach me either by e-mail at ASklover@jrf.org or by phone at (215) 885-5601 ex. 48. I look forward to getting your application for the Eastern Kallah soon, and can’t wait to see you in December!!!

L’Shalom v’So Much Kallah Excitement,
Alanna Sklover
No’ar Hadash

Chesapeake JRF Shabbaton

Lisa Tuttle — Thu, 01 Nov 2007 12:32:12 -0400

Start: Dec 14 2007 - 6:30pm

End: Dec 16 2007 - 10:30am

Save the date: Dec. 14-16, Capital Camps, Waynesboro, PA
The theme of this year's Chesapeake Regional Shabbaton is "Prayer, Spirituality and Expressions of Prayer through Reconstructionist Eyes." There will be adult, family and childrens' programming and a concurrent No'ar Hadash Teen Kallah for students in grade 8 and above.

For more information, contact Jackie Land, JRF Chesapeake regional director, at jljrf@aol.com.

Report From Richard and Jim's Wedding

John Riehl — Sat, 31 Mar 2007 21:57:00 -0400

On September 9th I was part of a truly joyous simchah – the wedding of Richard Ruth and Jim North, two members of Kol Ami, our Northern Virginia affiliate. It was a perfect day in every sense – the weather was warm and sunny and there was enough joy and ruach (spirit) to fill the whole world.

Rabbi Leila Gal Berner conducted a beautiful wedding service, which, in the best tradition of Reconstructionism, took the “traditional” marriage service and perfectly adapted it for this sacred occasion -- Richard and Jim publicly, Jewishly affirming their love for each other and their commitment to take their two separate lives and combine them into one, new life.

In his beautiful and moving D’var torah during the Shacharit service just before the wedding, Richard spoke of all of us who were at the service being the “sound of a shofar, breaking up a confining reality in need of braking up, so that We and all G-d’s children can have a space in which to live … Two grooms, multiple voices – a new kind of joy and an expanded opportunity for gladdening.” “Kol chatan v’kol chatan v’kol Kehilah – the voice of two grooms and the voice of the entire community” came together as one in joyous celebration on September 9th.

Mazal tov to Richard and Jim and mazal tov to Rabbi Leila and Kol Ami, which created a simchah that truly embodied all the best and highest values of the Reconstructionist movement!

Chesapeake JRF

Jackie Land — Mon, 12 Mar 2007 11:40:21 -0400

Chesapeake Region of the Jewish Reconstructionist Federation

Chesapeake Region is made up of 7 synagogues and Havurot in Baltimore, the Greater Washington area and Northern Virginia. Congregations include Adat Shalom in Bethesda, MD; Beit Tikvah in Baltimore, MD; Columbia Jewish Congregation in Columbia, MD; Kol Ami: Northern Virginia Jewish Community in Arlington, VA; Mishkan Torah in Greenbelt, MD; Oseh Shalom in Laurel, MD; and the Reconstructionist Havurah of Greater Washington.

Our current officers are President: John Riehl and Vice Presidents: George Stone and Rhoda Ratner.

Chesapeake JRF has many programs during the year including a Shabbat celebration either a local Shabbaton, Retreat in a camp or Traveling Scholar program; an Educators Day; a regional social program and an Afternoon of Honor and Celebration highlighting honorees from our region and synagogue.

We have a monthly newsletter that shares information about National JRF, Regional activities and congregational activities.

For more information, contact Jackie Land, Regional Director at jljrf@aol.com or 301-206-3332.