The Kansas City community is invited to the first of three events to explore their role in creating a more just world: A Sukkah for All: Sukkot, Social Justice & Celebration at the Congregation Kol Ami Sukkah.

Location: Kol Ami Sukkah at the Manheim Park + Garden, 4229 Forest, Kansas City, Missouri

Date: Sunday, October 8th from 3:00 – 5:00 PM

All ages are invited to this free event.

Please RSVP for A Sukkah for All: Sukkot, Social Justice & Celebration by visiting: Eventbrite.

“There are over 20 million refugees worldwide who are searching for a safe place to call home. The sukkah, a symbol of impermanence and vulnerability, reminds us of our own wandering, our own experience of intolerance. We wanted to make the connection to refugees in our community and around the world and say that we welcome you, we want to make room for you, we want to help you make Kansas City your home,” said Hilary Cohen Singer, Executive Director of JVS.

Motivated by their shared Jewish values, JVS, JFS and Congregation Kol Ami are collaborating to create a Jewish Partnership for Justice and Service, creating meaningful opportunities throughout the year that allow Jews of all ages and observances to celebrate and live out their Jewish values and Judaism’s obligation to repair the world.

The partnership was born out of an identified lack of Jewish social justice programming in Kansas City and a generous grant from J-LEAD, (Jewish Leadership, Education, Action and Development), a program dedicated to encouraging young Jewish adults in Kansas City to join together to make a substantive impact on the Jewish community. While some Jews today have limited Jewish literacy, are unlikely to join a synagogue, or struggle to find their place in the Jewish community, direct service and holiday celebrations provide a comfortable entry point that speaks to participants’ commitment to social justice and desire to find a like-minded community. Likewise, the connection to Jewish ritual and spiritual life provides a foundation for social justice work that promotes Jewish continuity.

“We believe in the power of collaboration. Together we can leverage our unique strengths such as Rabbinic guidance, programmatic expertise, deep relationships in the Jewish community and with marginalized populations in a more meaningful way than any one organization could do alone, ” said Don Goldman, Executive Director and CEO of JFS.

The work of the Jewish Partnership for Justice and Service is centered around three interrelated goals: providing for the needs of refugees in Kansas City, developing Jewish identity around social justice and building community through action, nourished by spiritual sustenance.

Please save the dates for a Human Rights Havdalah on Saturday, December 9th,  focused on the intersection of Jewish values and universal human rights and a Community Liberation Seder on Saturday, March 31st, 2018, a community-wide second night Seder that focuses on both the ancient exodus story of the Jewish people and the modern stories of displacement that still happen.

———————————–

For more information about volunteering to serve the refugee community in Kansas City contact refugeehelp@jfskc.org.

———————————–

Information about the community garden:

Congregation Kol Ami opened the Manheim Community Garden five years ago in partnership with the Manheim Park Neighborhood with the feeling of the importance of having a Jewish community presence east of Troost. Now, along with the Neighborhood, we have formed a conservancy known as the Manheim Park Conservancy, which now owns and operates the community garden.

Click here to learn more about Manheim Park + Garden.