Shavuot Minyan with Yizkor: Monday, May 28 at 8:00 am
May 15, 2012
Fittingly, Shavuot falls on Memorial Day this year, which includes Yizkor (meaning memory). The service starts at 8:00 AM and will include the entire Torah service, with the reading of the Torah and singing of Hallel.
If you would like to know more about Shavuot, click here.
Havurah Shalom Honors Miryam Brewer at Song of Miriam Awards
May 15, 2012
Miryam Brewer has been a member of Havurah Shalom for many years. About 12 years ago she proposed to four other Congregation families that they start having amonthly Shabbat dinner together. It would be hosted in rotation by each of the five families. The Shabbat Group is still going strong and has grown, as children have grown up and started their own families. The group calls Miryam, who keeps the calendar, the “Cruise Director.” And as one considers all of the other things that Miryam has done for our Congregation and beyond, the concept of “Cruise Director” seems an apt description for her.
Miryam has a strong commitment to support the Jewish Community and especially Havurah Shalom. She lives theteaching of Tikkun Olum, to repair the world. She does this by beginning in her own community, often working behind the scenes. The work she chooses to do has long-term impact. It benefits a large number of people, often without them even knowing it. And she makes sure it is sustainable.
Miryam created the Havurah library long before the congregation had a permanent address. Boxes of donations were sorted and installed in a corner of a temporary office. In 1997 Havurah Shalom moved to its new building, which included a beautiful library with room to grow. Miryam cataloged all of the books using the Eliazer classification system for Synagogue Libraries, she found funding to maintain an up-to-date collection, and even took the plunge to find an automation system to bring the library online for the entire congregation.
Please join us in celebrating Miryam by attending the 20th Annual “Song of Miriam” Awards Brunch on Sunday, June 3, 10:00 a.m., at the Mittleman Jewish Community Center.
A registration form is enclosed in this month’s Hakol, and is also available here.
Covenant of Hope News
May 3, 2012
Good news!
Our Tikkun Olam Committee’s recent calls for help (with the Covenant of Hope, a partnership with Portland’s Human Solutions, empowering families recovering from homelessness) have been met by the Havurah community quickly and with generosity.
Thanks to Havurah member contributions of more than $3,000 we now support a Covenant of Hope family that before last weekend had no home.
Our initial support is financial. It pays for one family’s rent and utilities for three months which, when added to Human Solutions’ matching funds, provides “our family” with a six-month foundation on which to re-create heretofore lost hearth and home.
Then, there’s Havurah’s help with “stuff.” Simple household stuff that families need. Bowls, plates, blankets, pots and pans. Stuff “our” family doesn’t have.
Or, rather, didn’t have. ‘Cause we published a Havurah community email call for donations last week, and immediately Havurahniks stepped up. Bringing items to the Synagogue after our Scholar-in-Residence weekend with Rabbi Sheila Pelz-Weinberg. Items we’ve since been schlepping to our family as quickly as we can (I mean, how do you cook for a six-year old when you don’t have any pots and pans?)
Who is “our family?” They are Jim, Zoe and their 6-year-old grandson, Connor.
Portlanders, they found themselves homeless a while back after family crisis and unemployment forced them to California. But that didn’t work! So they’re back in Portland. And struggling. But with the help of Friendly House (adsfadsfafd,) Human Solutions, and now Havurah they’re getting back on their feet.
Jim’s found work. School and after-school programs are being arranged for Connor. And they’ve got an apartment! In NW Portland. Which they moved into last weekend, thanks to Havurah and Human Solutions support.
Layton and Steve, two of our Tikkun Olam Committee co-chairs, visited them as they moved in.
And it’s a joy to help them.
(By the way, maybe there’s something else they need? Floor covering? A couple of chairs, maybe? Please check out the wish list we’ve set up for our family to see if there’s a few more household items that YOU could offer as Jim, Zoe, and Conor set themselves up – with a roof over their heads! By the way, if you’ve committed to this or that donation, we’re collecting items in the Pardes room at Havurah through Friday, May 4.)
Thanks, everyone!
Steve Rudman and Doug Ambort
P.S.
Steve plans to visit our Covenant of Hope family again this Sunday, to drop off some of the stuff they need. You wanna come, too? If so, let Steve know, at (503) 201-4361.
P.P.S.
Given that Havurah’s response to Tikkun Olam Committee’s Covenant of Hope has been so positive, we’re thinking that we might be able to partner up with another Covenant of Hope faith community to help support another family!
We’ll keep you posted.
Havurah welcomes Rabbi Sheila Peltz Weinberg as our Scholar-in-Residence: April 27-29, 2012
April 17, 2012
Get ready for a thought-provoking weekend brimming with learning, conversation and mindful contemplative practice when Havurah Shalom presents Rabbi Sheila Peltz Weinberg as its scholar-in-residence.Peltz Weinberg is a Reconstructionist rabbi, educator, poet and nationally recognized pioneer in contemplative practice, which combines eastern meditative practices with western religious thought. A co-founder of the Institute for Jewish Spiritually (www. http://www.ijs-online.org) she has published widely on feminism, Judaism, spirituality, and single parenting, and has contributed commentaries to Kol HaNeshama, the new Reconstructionist prayer book.Peltz Weinberg is the author of a memoir, Surprisingly Happy: An Atypical Religious Memoir, which describes her remarkable life and spiritual quest in poetry, written prayers, and meditation practices, along with a candid examination of her own struggles with addiction, her philosophy of feminism and her ideas about family life and relationships.
Schedule of Events
(All events are free with the exception of lunch) However, please register with the Havurah office and include which events you would like to attend as well as the names of those attending. There is NO childcare available during the Scholar in Residence Weekend with the exception of Saturday morning services. Please note: Registration for lunch is required via the link below.
Friday, April 27
8 pm: Shabbat Services, led by Rabbis Joey and Sheila
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Saturday, April 28:
9:30 am-noon: Saturday Services, led by Rabbi Joey with Rabbi Sheila
Join us for a creative, expansive, contemplative and untraditional service that begins with some yoga (led by Rabbi Sheila). It should be amazing!
Get here a little earlier than ususal (9:30 am) and wear comfortable clothes and don’t forget your mat!
Noon-1:30 pm: Lunch followed by Spiritual Meditation Practice led by Rabbi Sheila
Vegetarian Lunch pre-registration and payment ($10.00 each) due by April 20th:
Mail payment with the names of those attending to: Havurah Shalom, 825 NW 18th Ave, Portland OR 97209 or register online here.
1:30-3:00 pm: Urban Meditation Walk with Rabbi Joey, led by Robin Jensen
3:15-4:45 pm: Mindful Parenting Discussion for Shabbat School Families with Rabbi Sheila.
Rabbi Sheila will discuss how Judaism and Jewish spiritual practice can help us be more mindful parents, making us more aware of the joys and challenges of raising our children in a very busy, scattered world. For any parents of children who live at home.
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Sunday, April 29
10 a.m.-noon: Author reading of “Surprisingly Happy: An Atypical Religious Memoir,” by Rabbi Sheila (Bagel nosh provided). Q&A follows reading.
Connect with Social Media? Connect with Havurahniks!
April 11, 2012
SUNDAY, APRIL 15, 11:30 AM – 1:00 PM (after the Congregational Budget Meeting)
Havurah’s Alta Rockers invite you to a short, playful workshop on how Havurahniks can most effectively use social media to make connections and build knowledge.Facilitated by our Facebook co-administrators (Bob and Doug) the session will cover various topics including
- how to use new Facebook features
- how-to’s
- on-line privacy issues
- tips suitable for Facebook newbies, wannabe’s, and old-timers alike
- tools with which to make your online social media experience easier and more meaningful.
Bring your laptop, your smartphone or your iPad!
