Shalom!
This month we begin the new year and also we begin an attempt to bring to our site some practical programs that you can apply to your congregation or agency or group that will speak to the issues that baby boomers are facing.
In the congregation world, we know that this is a time when many leave their affiliation. With such an emphasis on “pediatric” Judaism, the issues that surround our generation are often overlooked. So, we will try to, on a monthly basis, highlight a program that is on operation or an idea that we have found interesting that could easily be adapted into to programmatic model. We invite you to submit a program idea or question about a program to jewishsacredaging.com so we can follow up and. we hope, feature it.
To begin this initiative, let me refer you to two of our jewishsacredaging.com podcasts that are to be found on the site now.
One is Podcast #1, featuring a workshop on the “Art of Care-giving” that I conducted at Congregation M’kor Shalom in Cherry Hill N.J.
This program is an outline of texts and approaches around THE number one subject that engages many of our generation. The challenges of care-giving are so diverse and complex, that we wanted to begin discussions with an understanding of some of the ways in which Judaism can lay a faith foundation.
Our second podcast program, “Three Program Ideas for Congregations and Baby Boomers,” comes from a session at a Spring 2012 regional Shabbaton from the URJ. It touches on the care-giving idea, plus ideas around ritual creation and end of life issues.
The changing demographics of our community are making it even more important for us to have open dialogue with the growing boomer generation. Not only in spiritual and ritual matters, but, as the election season is showing, matters of political discussion around health care and entitlements that will impact all of us.
So, Happy New Year and we look forward to receiving your ideas and programs.
Shalom and L’shana Tova,
Rabbi Richard F Address, D.Min
Rabbi Richard F. Address, D.Min, is the Founder and Director of www.jewishsacredaging.com. Rabbi Address served for over three decades on staff of the Union for Reform Judaism; first as a Regional Director and then, beginning in 1997, as Founder and Director of the URJ’s Department of Jewish Family Concerns and served as a specialist and consultant for the North American Reform Movement in the areas of family related programming. Rabbi Address was ordained from Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion in 1972 and began his rabbinic career in Los Angeles congregations. He also served as a part time rabbi for Beth Hillel in Carmel, NJ while regional director and, after his URJ tenure, served as senior rabbi of Congregation M’kor Shalom in Cherry Hill, NJ from 2011-2014.
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