My Nonprofit Reviews

I belong to a number of nonprofits that I love, but none which has changed and enriched my life as has the Society for Humanistic Judaism. I found humanistic secular Judaism when I walked into a Rosh Hashana service with my baby son in a carrier, 32 years ago. I was looking for a Jewish community that would welcome our mixed (formerly Jewish observant, formerly Methodist observant) family, and REALLY WELCOME each of us. We joined our local Machar, Washington DC community and thus the North American Society for Humanistic Judaism at the same time.

I have been highly active in many volunteer roles over those 32 years because I got so much back from participating. I found a community of open-minded, listening, caring and educated members who were willing to wrangle with the issues of our day in respectful conversation, and support each other in our needs. Enjoying each other’s company, we built together a Sunday school to teach our children to gather the facts and then make their own decisions. We reread bible stories to analyze with the children what the author/s might have been trying to teach, not the mandated moral. The children learned to be productive together and made lasting friends from across the DC, VA and MD area.

We also have created many years of wonderful adult education classes, learning intercultural perspectives, Jewish bible meanings, first-person historical accounts, and alternative responses to current challenges of our world. Because our door is wide open to all who feel a connection to the culture, history or values of Judaism, we learn from those of different ethnic, gender, geographic and religious backgrounds who joined us, including a former priest and two former pastors. :) And our children grew up comfortably with differently-abled friends and those from many countries.

We commit much planning time to a variety of life-cycle events that are meaningfully shared with young and old; they are quite individualized to what’s significant to each participant, be it a baby-naming, Bat/Bar Mitzvah, or adult Bat/Bar Mitzvah. Those celebrations stay in our collective memories.

The Society for Humanistic Judaism allows us to share ideas and programs across communities, helping us expand in the US and Canada. Our SHJ board is huge for a working group, 47 people from around the US and Toronto! But we trust and respect each other and each other’s time. Through effective subcommittee work, commitment to time schedules, and regular online communication, we tackle huge projects, like our 50th anniversary event for 150 people in April 2019! It was creative, multi-faceted, organized and fun!

I have done fundraising, protest marching, discussion planning, eulogy-writing, and writing a standardized school curriculum format because the work feels valuable and valued! I would not be involved in a Jewish life were it not for the SHJ. This is my family, and I know many others feel the same