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The Pulse of Our Congregation July 2007

In this Issue

Looking Ahead

June 2007 Activities

Remembering Gloria Goldstein

A Three Hour Mitzvah Opportunity -- July 31

Leyv Ha-Ir Annual Meeting Minutes

An Open Invitation to our Tikkun Olam Meeting

RESULTS OF RACE FOR THE CURE - May 13, 2007


 

Looking Ahead

A few upcoming events you might consider participating in are listed in the main section of this newsletter


Marking Life Cycle Events

Making a financial contribution to Congregation Leyv Ha-Ir is a great way to mark special life events, simchas, yahrzeits, etc. We are happy to send an acknowledgement of your contribution to a designee of your choice. Contributions can be sent to our regular P.O. Box address, or contact Evy Simon, at 215-561-7474 or [email protected], if you'd like to have an acknowledgement card sent.

Thank you.


We Are Moving to the Energy of Love
�Roy Shenberg 2007

We are moving
Energy in motion
Shimmering streams
Waves upon the ocean
We are moving, yes moving
Moving to the energy of love

We are budding roses
Blooming in the sunlight
Divine dreams
Dancing in the moonlight
We are moving, yes moving
Moving to the energy of love

We are sparks of light
Sparkling in the sun's heat
Birds in flight
Gliding to the earth's beat
We are moving, yes moving
Moving to the energy of love

We are you and I
Singing with each other
Discovering,
We are sisters, we are brothers
We are moving, yes moving
Moving to the energy of love

We are moving, we are changing
Lives rearranging
The earth is spinning at an awesome speed
Let us savor being together
Spreading hope and love like we sow seeds
I believe love's what we need

We are moving, yes moving
Moving to the energy of ---
Love.


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Dear Friends of Leyv Ha-Ir ~ Heart of the City,

Happy Summer time. Our lay-led services at Leyv Ha-Ir ~ Heart of the City will continue during the summer. They provide an excellent opportunity to become acquainted with our hospitality and spirituality. Each member of our community takes responsibility for her own spiritual journey, and we have phenomenal respect for these varied and genuine expressions of Judaism.

It is not too early to consider where you are spending your High Holidays. Twelve years ago, I decided to attend Leyv Ha-Ir. After the first Rosh Hashanah service, I sent a check in and joined. I was so delighted when Beverly the President, recognized my name when we met. She said, "Oh, you're our new member," and she hugged me. Since that time, I have never looked back. Now it is my honor to be President. I hope I can impress you the way Beverly impressed me. This year you join. Baruch Hashem in a decade, you'll have the opportunity to write this letter. Send me an e-mail at [email protected] if I can answer any questions for you.

Stay safe in the hot weather and drink plenty of fluids.

Blessings,

Michael Meketon, President
Leyv Ha-Ir ~ Heart of the City
[email protected]


  • June 2007 Activities
  • July 4 WEDNESDAY
    Independence Day

    July 07 SATURDAY
    Shabbat Services
    HOME
    10:00 AM

    July 11 WEDNESDAY
    Council Meeting
    HOME
    7:00 PM

    July 21 SATURDAY
    Shabbat Services
    HOME
    10:00 AM

    July 23 MONDAY
    Tisha B'Av
    HOME
    8:00 PM


    As part of the Kehillah of Center City we are invited to attend all of the events that are sponsored by the Kehillah and our larger community. To learn more about these events, check out the link to Center City Kehillah.

    Click here for a complete look at Congregation Leyv Ha-Ir activities for the upcoming two months.
  • Remembering Gloria Goldstein
  • Gloria Goldstein passed away Tuesday, May 29, 2006. Below is her poem, written in December 1997. Gloria is second from left in the adjacent photo, taken at a past Leyv Ha-Ir Annual Retreat. We will miss you, Gloria.

    Gloria's Poem

    For the women who can and the women who can't
    For the women who will and for the women who won't
    For the women who died unfulfilled and unloved &
    For the women who were their own person regardless of the consequences
    For the women who fought, marched and protested &
    For the women who remained silent & bore their pain
    For the women who stood tall & kept the vigil during all wars & desperately tried to keep it all together during peace times
    For the women who are nurturers & the women who only want to be pampered and waited on
    For the women who care & for the women who don't
    For the women who struggled for their place in the sun & for the women who knew not their place nor dared or cared to know
    For the women of today who have met the challenge of a man's world
    And for the women who have not and who remain locked in their own cocoon & refuse to grow with the times
    I only know that I am proud to be a woman with strong convictions & it is great to be living in the 20th century
    Which has given me the opportunity to be myself to express myself artistically & I look forward to the 21st century with great enthusiasm & delight

    Gloria Goldstein
    12/5/1997

  • A Three Hour Mitzvah Opportunity -- July 31
  • As a social worker, I've recently started working at a low-income, independent living residence for the elderly in South Philadelphia, which is very close to the Stiffel Senior Center. Many of you may know that in the early to mid 20th century, South Philadelphia was a hotbed of Philadelphia Jewry. A number of my residents at Jackson Place who are Jewish attend the Stiffel Center. Many of these individuals are but vestiges of a culture that used to be thriving.

    You would really be doing a MITZVAH if you took three (3) hours (11 am - 2 pm) out of your day on Tuesday, July 31st, to pack food packages at the JCCs Stiffel Senior Center* for the surrounding community. It's an easy bus ride from Center City, and I guarantee you it would give you a good feeling to do this. Please RSVP me so we can figure out the logistics of transportation. If anyone has a car, please note this.

    Thank you,
    Margie Wiener

    *JCCs Stiffel Senior Center is located at 604 Porter Street

    Call 215- 832-0821 or click for more information
  • Leyv Ha-Ir Annual Meeting Minutes
  • Date: May 20, 2007
    Location: Penn Center House
    Time: 11 AM to 1 PM

    The meeting was called to order by President, Michael Meketon.

    Rabbi Julie Greenberg made a few opening remarks and led a group participation activity.

    Topic: Officers
    Discussion: Beverly announced the nominations for officers as follows:
    President - Michael Meketon (concluding 2-year term)
    First Vice President - Bobbi Cohen
    Second Vice President - Evy Simon
    Secretary - Iris Newman
    Treasurer - vacant
    Council Members at Large - Maria Mackey and Myrna Schlanger.

    Topic: New Council Members and Committee Chairs (Mike)
    Discussion: Nominations from the floor were taken for members for 2 Council at Large. The nominations were: John Mason and Marci Fleet

    Outcome: Members voted to accept the nominations as stated. The new committee members that were appointed are: Margie Wiener - Tikkun Olam and Joan Goldberg - Education, The members voted and accepted the new Council at Large Members.

    Topic: Budget (Sol, Bobbi)
    Discussion: Sol discussed the 2006-2007 budget and Bobbi discussed the 2007-2008 budget. Karen Zeitz questioned the rationale for the Seder and the Shabbaton listed as a profit making activity. It was explained that the budget serves only as a guideline. A lively discussion ensued. Karen then made a motion to amend the budget so that the income from the Seder and the Shabbaton was decreased from $500.00 to $250.00.

    Outcome: The members voted and the amendment to the budget was approved.

    Topic: Fundraising (Mike)
    Discussion: Mike revealed a recent anonymous endowment of $15,000. The donor has also agreed to match future donations for one year. Mike is consulting with experts in the field to decide how to best use this.

    Outcome: A new committee for fundraising events will be forming.

    Topic: Gratitude (Mike)
    Discussion: Mike discussed the success of our 2006 High Holiday activities and thanked all who assisted with this. In addition, Mike honored the Executive Board with complimentary words and mezuzah covers. The members honored were: Bobbi Cohen, Evy Simon, and Iris Newman

    Outcome: None. Congratulations to the above members

    Topic: Harvesting and Challenges (Mike)
    Discussion: Mike asked everyone to discuss something about how Leyv Ha-Ir has influenced their life in the past year. Many members had significant points to make. In addition, Mike discussed how our ability to openly discuss matters has helped us to deal with challenges such as the number of people at the High Holiday events and the discussion of political issues.

    Outcome: None needed

    Topic: Family Torah Group (Mike)
    Discussion: Mike discussed the Family Torah Group which consists of 11 families that meet once a month in member homes. Several changes have taken place to encourage the participation more families with children.

    Outcome: None needed

    Topic: Adult Education (Karen)
    Discussion: Karen announced that she will be leading a 3 part educational activity including: Writing Ethical Wills, Estate Planning, and Charitable Bequests. Dates and times will be announced.

    Outcome: None; Thank you, Karen

    Topic: New book discussion
    Discussion: Rabbi Julie announce the book that will be discussed at the August Bagels and Books. The book is Spiritual Communities by David Teutsch.

    The meeting was adjourned at 1 PM.

    Respectfully submitted,
    Myra Caplan

  • An Open Invitation to our Tikkun Olam Meeting
  • The Tikkun Olam Committee invites you to our summer Tikkun Olam Committee meeting, which will be held at Joan Goldberg's parlor on Sunday, July 22, at 4pm, Apt. 1806. 1901 JFK Blvd.

    This is a very exciting time for our committee. Ideas are brewing, members from other committees are getting involved, and we're taking a more "activist" approach this year. We're seeking individuals who feel passionate about issues and who want to have a stake in recommending which social action projects our congregation might get involved in.

    There are a lot of topics for our meeting agenda -- to name a few:

    1. Donating dictionaries for prisoners, matching their requests with the books, and then packing them

    2. Preparing hospitality kits for the homeless

    3. Raising funds by selling energy-saving lightbulbs

    4. Donating Jewish-oriented books for Graterford's Jewish congregation

    5. Enlightening our congregation about international human rights education on Martin Luther King's Day

    6. Raising funds to buy solar cooking machines for Darfur women in refugee camps (thus empowering them and preventing them from leaving the camp for wood and exposing themselves to rape and slaughter by the Janjaweed militia)

    7. Preparing food packages at the Stiffel Center in South Philly for the few, elderly, low-income Jews remaining from what was once a thriving culture..

    So, please RSVP me and come to the meeting.
    Margie Wiener, Chair
    [email protected]

  • RESULTS OF RACE FOR THE CURE - May 13, 2007
  • Dear Teammates,

    Well, Heart of the City did it again! Thanks to you, "the little team that could", has collected $1,267 to help with the advancement of breast cancer research, detection and curing.

    As promised and hoped for it was a beautiful day for us in every way: weather, walking, sharing talking; meeting, greeting, laughing, eating; all together..........

    I had a pleasant and informative chat with a paid assistant from the Philadelphia Komen Office today. This was in regards to some of the feed-back I received from you, as well as, my concerns as the Captain. Kathy agreed that signs saying TEAM TENT need to be posted all around it, so that it's visibility and locations can see seen from all directions. As for our own "meeting" challenges, we need to exchange cell phone numbers and keep them active during the morning of the Race. (Sleep-overs or meeting in front of Frann's building was also suggested at our after Race brunch.)

    My biggest concerns are team registration and a more user-friendly website. The former is up to us LHI members; the latter, Komen's Philly IT Group. Heart of the City had 8 members register on-line and the 5 who registered by mail or in person, still are not accounted for!!!! (This is due to Komen's very small staff of volunteers handling a voluminous amount of individual paper registrants)

    Let's make The Race 2008, on May 11th, even more fun, easier, meaningful and beneficial to us and Komen for the Cure. All 13 and hopefully more of LHI members, friends and family need to register on-line so that we can be recognized in a timely manner and receive all the donations in the same way. (We really have collected more to date, but without the help of modern technology, it is easy to understand what a time consuming process it is.)

    Have a wonderful summer. Thank you all again.

    Love ya, and stay cool, happy and healthy.

    Susan

    :: 215-629-1995