Written by Maggie Feinstein
Sometimes, what is novel is doing the most basic thing – with intentionality.
This occurred to me as we plan a potluck for this weekend at the JCC Family Park with a number of wonderful community groups. What is simply an afternoon picnic with neighbors is happening with a commitment to broadening our view of neighbors and belonging to one another. This, in turn, is happening in the context of the 250 years since the signing of the Declaration of Independence. It’s an opportunity to look at the document with fresh eyes and 250 years of lived experience.
Through the Center or Loving Kindness, we were so happy to be asked by Christian Associates of Southwest PA to participate in a national effort called “America’s Potluck” to commemorate the Semiquincentennial. The call to action is to have a traditional potluck on July 5 at the same time as thousands of other people across the country, where we mark this milestone by getting to know our neighbors.
Following the tradition of Sunday dinner, we are invited to slow down, serve others, and connect with one another. Through dialogue and a shared meal, we will promote our common bonds and come together in a nationwide moment to honor the freedoms we enjoy as Americans. Opening up this beautiful facility – the JCC Family Park – is our way of hosting a potluck for community to gather and consider what we carry forward from this document that sought to tie a divided nation together.
The most basic value – to be a good host – can be reinvigorated in times like this. As Dr. Maya Angelou said, “I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.”
It happens at the JCC all the time. You see it in the the long conversations at reception desks when a member came with a basic question and it turns into a broad-ranging conversation; the groups of people waiting for an exercise class and chatting and getting to know one another.
This week the JCC was happy for the second year in a row to welcome Bible Camp hosted by the Christian Church of Wilkinsburg, a group who want to understand more about the Jewish community and what happened on 10/27/18.
So, opening up the Family Park to be a place where people gather and build new communities feels so natural, and even more so with the focus on what our country endeavored to do 250 years ago.
All those years ago, it was declared that “they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. –That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed…” We have had 250 years to strive towards these unalienable rights and to have a government that works to protect those rights. It is so important to know your north star, not because you will arrive there but because we need to know what direction we wish to head in.
On July 5, come help us make a special gathering where each of us actively commit to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness for all of us, and holding our government accountable to this north star. Or make sure to stay up on programs offered through the Center for Loving Kindness.
Happy 4th of July from your JCC family, stay safe and cool!
Wishing you and your families a Shabbat Shalom.
