Chicago, IL - led by Temple Sholom's Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender (LGBT) affiliate group — Am Keshet (in Hebrew "People of the Rainbow") a dynamic PRIDE Shabbat Service will be held on Friday June 28th, beginning with a wine and cheese reception at 5:45 pm with the Service beginning at 6:15 pm. The Temple is honored to welcome religious and social leaders from around the city to thank them for their support of the LGBT community.
Attendees include:
Alderman James Cappleman of the 46th Ward,
Karma Israelson (CEO, Howard Brown Healthcare Center),
State Representative Harris, and his Chief of Staff Coleman,
John Berry from the Human Rights Campaign,
Mary Dixon (Legislatve Director, ACLU),
Jim Bennett (Executive Director, Lambda Legal — Midwest Regional Office),
Bernard Cherkasov (CEO of Equality Illinois and Temple Sholom member)
People of all faiths are welcome. This free event will stand as a beacon of hope for the entire community as we celebrate LGBT Pride. We anticipate that this yearly Shabbat can make a dynamic statement within the faith-based and social community that we stand together united to celebrate love and human understanding.
On Sunday, June 30th the Temple will also participate in the 2013 pride parade with our very own float (thanks to a grant in 2011 from the Union of Reform Judaism). The Pride Parade celebration is Sunday, June 30 at 12:00 p.m. and we would love to have well-wishers join us on pride Sunday to cheer on Am Keshet and the Temple's beautiful float. We anticipate that we will be within the first third of the parade with a float design that is a scale model of our iconic Temple Building. There will be no way to miss our entry in this festive event!
At Temple Sholom, we have a commitment to LGBT social causes and our Temple Clergy — Incoming Senior Rabbi Edwin Goldberg, Interim Senior Rabbi Peter Knobel, Rabbi Shoshanah Conover, Rabbi David Sandmel, and Cantor Aviva Katzman proudly officiate and endorse same-sex Jewish weddings.
We are overjoyed to once again be a part of this event and hope to further highlight our Temple as an engine of awareness, diversity, and positive social change within our vibrant community. In addition, we are very excited about the continuation of Am Keshet and its sustained presence at Temple Sholom of Chicago.
We look forward to seeing everyone on June 28 & 30. If you would like to join please contact us at 773-525-4707.
Temple Sholom of Chicago is located at 3480 N. Lake Shore Dr. For additional information please go our website: www.sholomchicago.org .
Temple Sholom sits in the forefront of Reform Judaism—educating both young and old, presenting lectures and programs of broad appeal, helping those searching for new forms of worship and expression within Jewish heritage, and serving the disadvantaged in the community.