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Loving Kindness and Civic Engagement – Faith and Politics – Our Fifth Calendar Year

Posted by Rabbi Ron Symons on December 28, 2021

December 2021 “I believe that our faith could influence our civic engagement.” I am hoping that for some of us, the above statement raises at least one eyebrow. After all, we know each other well enough to understand how precious I hold the rights explicated in the First Amendment of the Bill of Rights that prevent Congress from making “…no law respecting an establishment of religion, or …

Beyond Potlucks and Panels: Interfaith Dialogue for a Digital Era

Posted by Rev. Liddy Barlow and Rabbi Ron Symons on February 8, 2021

February 1, 2021 One by one the Zoom boxes appear on the screen. A retired Jewish radiologist in suburban Pittsburgh. A self-described “Jew-Bu” in Brooklyn, combining the Judaism of her upbringing with a Buddhist meditation practice. A college professor who has practiced the Baha’i faith since her teens. A lapsed Catholic exploring phenomenological philosophy on the side. Joining us from their own living rooms, tonight this …

Thanking Our Front Line Helpers

Posted by JCC Pittsburgh on October 13, 2020

Who’s on the front line? Thanking our JCC front line workers. 7-7-21 - Many Thanks, Amy! Our JCC experienced a beautiful surprise this week, courtesy of Amy Magoun. Amy, a research coordinator at the University of Pittsburgh, is a regular volunteer with “Scent with Love,” an organization that retrieves fresh flowers from weddings and events or that remained unsold, and donates them to Pittsburgh places in need. “I …

The Ground Beneath Us Is Very Hard

Posted by Rabbi Ron Symons on July 8, 2020

“The ground beneath us is very hard.” That was our big learning as we began our gardening work today at East End Cooperative Ministries (EECM) in East Liberty. The ground beneath us is very hard because of the dry heat we have been experiencing for too many days to count. The ground beneath us is very hard because of the harsh realities of racism and privilege that …

“You are a part of me I do not yet know.”

Posted by Rabbi Ron Symons on July 6, 2020

I recently learned this moral and spiritual truth by reading it in See No Stranger, by Valarie Kaur, a civil rights activist and spiritual leader at the forefront of progressive change. I continue to learn this truth along my journey of meeting others who are a part of me I do not yet know. PART 1 – A Pastor, Imam and Rabbi: For the past 6 months, I …

Neighbor is a moral concept.

Posted by Brian Schreiber on June 2, 2020

The death of George Floyd and the protests across America that followed have been a sobering reminder of how deep our society’s wounds really are. As I reflect on this tragedy, I am reminded just why we created the Center for Loving Kindness three years ago and the enduring Jewish values universally applicable to love your neighbor as yourself. We do this in a non-partisan …

I am on an Anxiety Roller Coaster

Posted by Rabbi Ron Symons on June 2, 2020

June 2, 2020 Once again, far too quickly, frequently and painfully, the curtains covering systemic racism have been pulled back and we see that which is too painful to look at and acknowledge. The inequitable impact of COVID19 on low income communities and communities of Color is painful enough. And yet there is more. The series of injustices perpetrated against members of the Black community in …

A Message from the Center for Loving Kindness

Posted by Rabbi Ron Symons on May 31, 2020

The JCC Pittsburgh Center For Loving Kindness was founded in August 2017 in response to the violent, racist and anti-Semitic march in Charlottesville Virginia. We gathered our interfaith and interracial community on the anniversary of the August 1963 March of Washington to make a declaration. More than 200 spiritual leaders signed it. We believe the events of this past week serve as a reminder of the importance of that …

It Could Be You! You have an UPstander inside of you

Posted by Rabbi Ron Symons on May 28, 2020

June 2020 It could be you! That’s right. Don’t look to the right or the left, in front of you or behind you for someone else to stand UP and make a difference. You have the ability to be an UPstander in your own right. It really is quite simple. Take the East End Cooperative Ministries (EECM) located in East Liberty. Just read Carole Bailey’s words: "Since becoming …

Practicing Kindness and Social Distancing

Posted by Janet Hellner-Burris on March 18, 2020

I just finished editing our church’s response to the coronavirus pandemic. It has taken me awhile to complete it because I keep receiving one email and text after another canceling events and engagements. Our church members' responses range from extreme denial (“It’s a hoax”) to extreme concern. At this point no one is panicked – yet. But we are taking precautions as a congregation to …

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