 SAS: Social Action Sundays
Many of the JRC parents spend the two hours of Sunday religious school waiting at or near the temple. Why not spend Sunday mornings helping the community and getting to know each other at the same time? We meet every other week to make casseroles to feed clients at the Durham Rescue Mission or Urban Ministries or to make blankets for traumatized children for Project Linus.
Meeting times are on the following Sundays at 9:35 am in the JRC Community Court or kitchen:
September 12, 2010
If you would like to attend and/or donate ingredients, please contact Jen Richmond-Bryant: jenbillike@gmail.com. If you plan to donate a food item, please state which ingredient and quantity if you plan to bring something.
Want to make a casserole and drop it off (during office hours)? Click here for the recipe.
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Urgent Relief Request for the Israel Movement for Progressive Judaism
The IMPJ is suffering an unprecedented financial hardship. Every North American Reform Movement organization is working together to save the IMPJ at this time. Tlearn more and to support this effort, click here.
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Tzedakah Focus: Each month we highlight the good work of a local social justice organization and offer financial support with contributions made to the Tzedakah box located in our front lobby. In recent months we have made significant contributions to the Dispute Settlement Center for Orange County, the Food Bank of Central and Eastern North Carolina, Judea Reform's Get Out the Vote Initiative, and the Durham Crisis Response Center (DCRC).
Our current Tzedakah Focus is El Centro Hispano in Durham, NC. El Centro Hispano is a grassroots community based organization dedicated to strengthening the Latino community and improving the quality of life of Latino residents in Durham, North Carolina, and the surrounding area. El Centro Hispano accomplishes its mission through education, community support, leadership development, community organizing and by establishing alliances with other communities and organizations. To learn more about this organization, click here.
Contributions may be placed in the Tzedakah box or sent to Judea Reform Congregation. We appreciate your contributions.
Tzedakah Mutual Fund: On Rosh Hashanah morning, we pray: “…Repentance, Prayer, and Charity temper judgment’s severe decree.” Many people choose this season to fulfill the mitzvah of tzedakah. For the fourth year, we are making available the Tzedakah Mutual Fund. Contributions to this fund are pooled and distributed proportionately to the following organizations selected by our Social Action Committee:
- IRAC Israel Religious Action Center (the public and legal advocacy arm of the Reform Movement in Israel)
- SEEDS South Eastern Efforts Developing Sustainable Spaces (youth-focused and community-based gardening programs)
- Mazon: A Jewish Response to Hunger (the only national Jewish non-profit dedicated to ending hunger among people of all faiths)
You may send a contribution to this fund in the days leading up to High Holy Days to the synagogue office, or you may sign a pledge when you are on the premises during the holiday. We are unable to accept cash or checks during the holidays.
Click here to donate online.
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 I the Eternal One have called you to righteousness — Gates of Prayer
At the heart of our social action work is a commitment to bring into practice the core social justice values of Judaism and to pursue tikkun olam — ‘repairing the world’— through individual and group action. The Social Action Committee offers projects in two important areas: Tzedakah, emergency relief for the most needy members of our community, and Tzedek, social advocacy projects which address root causes of injustice, inequality and environmental distress.
We are guided by the principles of Reform Judaism, the expertise of the Religious Action Center for Reform Judaism, and the URJ’s Commission on Social Action. We also work to build relationships with other faith communities in support of our common desire to create a more peaceful, more just world. The Social Action Committee welcomes new members and invites you to share ideas, know-how, and experiences to help us deepen and broaden our social justice work.
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Yearly Tzedakah Projects: The Social Action Committee coordinates recurring relief and social action projects which rely on contributions from many congregants. Some of our successful activities include: preparation of Community Kitchen dinners each month, gleaning farms for produce to donate to the Food Bank, collections for the Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur food drive, Meals on Wheels at Christmas, purchasing and promoting Equal Exchange Coffee, and raising money through participation in the Crop Walk.
One -Time Events and Partnerships: The Social Action Committee organizes and participates in a variety of one-time events. Recent activities include helping to build a Habitat for Humanity Home, participating in the March for Women's Lives, and hosting number of guest speakers. Our most recent speakers were Professor Trina Jones of Duke Law School, who gave a rousing and inspirational lecture on "The quest for Integration: Reflections on Bronw v. board of Education at Fifty," and Gerald Taylor, Southeast Regional Director of the Industrial Areas foundation, who spoke on the renowned social activist Saul Alinsky. We look forward to hosting former senator John Miller, who will speak to us about slavery at our Levin-Moscovitz lecture later this spring.
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