The Charlotte Jewish News - May 2012 - Page 20
Temple Kol Ami
Announces Partnership
with the Institute for
Southern Jewish Life
What a Rabbi - and a Congregation -
Needs
Since June 4, 2010, the vision
of Temple Kol Ami has been to be
a congregation that is open and
welcoming to all Jews. We are “an
independent, dynamic, and wel
coming Jewish congregation serv
ing the needs of York County and
the surrounding area.”
Temple Kol Ami is very proud
of the growth it has nurtured in our
nearly two years of existence. We
have become a strong part of the
overall community. We maintain a
vibrant education program for the
youth, spirited holiday and
Sabbath observances, and we have
just begun what is going to be an
incredible and supportive partner
ship with the Institute for
Southern Jewish Life (ISJL).
Our partnership with the ISJL is
going take us to the next level of
our growth. As a congregation,
without full-time leadership, the
ISJL will be there to support us
and to offer any guidance we may
need. This includes Rabbinic,
Educational, Cultural resources,
and more.
As a partner of the Institute for
Southern Jewish Life we will be
joining a growing list of other con
gregations, with whom we will be
able to share resources and ideas.
This is a great time to be part of
Temple Kol Ami. We are here for
you, your children, and your chil
dren’s children. L’dor Vador, from
generation to generation. Temple
Kol Ami will be here.
Temple Kol Ami holds Friday
night services the first and third
Friday of the month at 7 PM. Our
services are held at Unity
Presbyterian Church in Fort Mill,
SC (303 Tom Hall Street, Fort
Mill, SC 29715). To learn more
about Temple Kol Ami and our
programs please visit us online
at www.kolamitemple.com or
email us at yorksynagogue@
gmail. com. ^
SficiCbm y'dCC
On March 29, Temple Or
Olam’s Rabbi Dr. Barbara Thiede
traveled to Knoxville as part of a
four-member team from Davidson
Centre for the Professions. The
team led a one-day workshop for
doctors, nurses, and chaplains
from two area hospitals. This year,
the Gammon/Heatherly Series
was centered around “Sustaining
Resilient Leaders: Tools to Build
Personal and Professional
Resilience.” Rabbi Thiede (who
received both a rabbinic ordina
tion and smicha as a spiritual
director from ALEPH, the
Alliance for Jewish Renewal) is
on staff at the Centre. She accom
panied two life coaches and a
Presbyterian minister, focusing,
for her part, on bringing the wis
dom of Jewish tradition to ques
tions of spiritual self-care and
growth.
An open commitment to foster
ing spiritual growth is characteris
tic of Temple Or Olam. Under
Rabbi Thiede’s leadership, we
explore Leviticus, for example,
not simply as set of legal prescrip
tions but in order to understand
the way value is embedded in rit
uals both ancient and modem. Are
we feeling the need to designate
holy spaces in our homes and
lives, just as our ancient forefa
thers did with the careful ordering
of ritual in the Tabernacle? Can
we make the recital of simple
blessings into a spiritual practice,
knowing, for example, that the
^oUi UA Uy honor
David and Aleen Epstein
Recipients of the 2012 CJDS
Barbara & Jerry Levin Visionary Award
at
prayer for washing our hands
actually asks us to raise them in
service to humanity? Even our
chagim - which we celebrate with
jokes and riddles and fun - are
punctuated by questions that help
us understand our own spiritual
path. At our community Seder this
year, we asked ourselves what
things we needed to leave behind
and shared with one another what
we needed to take with us - the
ensuing discussions were rich.
Having a rabbi who brings to
the table academic expertise in
both Jewish history and text study
is a great thing, but it’s especially
important to us to know that our
growth as Jews is nurtured by
deep attention to important spiri
tual questions. What do we long
for? How do we experience prayer
as an avenue for change and
understanding? How do we make
sure to encourage each other in
connecting to our traditions and
our heritage?
For Rabbi Thiede to be speak
ing with Christian clergy and
Christian and secular medical per
sonnel about spiritual health from
Jewish experience and tradition is
further demonstration that our
heritage is - when it comes to
spiritual growth - very deep
indeed. May we know it and nur
ture it.
Temple Or Olam is a Jewish
Renewal community that serves
Cabarrus county and parts of
Mecklenburg county (including
University City, Davidson, and
Huntersville). We encourage
heartfelt, easy access to all things
Jewish. For more information,
please visit our website at
www.or-olam.org and subscribe to
our mailing list. You can also
email us at info@or-olam.org, or
call 704-720-7577. «
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“A leader whe deesn’t hesitate
before he sends his nation into
battle is not fit to be a leader.”
-Golda Meir in Joseph Telushkin, Jewish Wisdom
A COMMUNITY-WIDE
INVITATION
^randparenb' Day
Triday, May 11
9:80-11am
Gorelick Hall^ Shalom Park
A continental breakfast will be served
CIDS
' charlotte Jewish
Day School fedeIw^n^
Please RSVP by May 3 • 704-366-4558