Putting the Community back in the Community of Congregations

I am excited. One of the things I remember most about the Community of Congregations was the regular Community Meetings, which were held in the various congregations around town. Each meeting was preceded by brief remarks by a representative of the con-gregation focusing on some architectural or other feature of the facility. We called that segment, Sacred Space. Also, attendees were invited to make announcements of upcoming events and other matters of importance.

On March 21 the tradition returns. We will hold our first new Community Meeting at Pil-grim Congregational Church, 460 Lake St., in Oak Park at 7:30 p.m. The feature program will be presented by representatives of Samaritans for Congregations, a relatively new or-ganization. They will discuss the various services they can offer to assist congregations with the nuts and bolts issues that congregations face in these times. See the announce-ment elsewhere in this newsletter for some of the services they offer. Please come with questions for our speakers.

If you have announcements please hand a note to me or Katie Avalos at the beginning of the meeting so that we can try to include everyone.

Special thanks to Rev. Sally Iberg of Pilgrim Congregational Church for making the church available to us in time to get the information into this issue of the Common Call.

I call your attention to the remarks made by Rabbi Brant Rosen at an interfaith dinner in Evanston, which we have included at the end of this newsletter.

As I write, winter has finally come to our community but there is warmth in our hearts.

I look forward to seeing you at the meeting by which time it will officially be Spring.

What will be your next intentional act of kindness?

Leonard Grossman

President

PRESIDENT ’S MESSAGE

M A R C H 2 0 1 3

I N S I D E T H I S I S S U E :

March Community Meeting

2

Time to Renew 2

Board News 2

Plans for Celebrating Seniors Week Underway

3

WSTHZ Planning Trike-A-Thon & Health Fair

3

Events of Note 3

Listening Once Again: Holy Week as Spiritual Wisdom

4

Faith Perspectives Pro-gram on Health Care Reform

4

Are You Up For the Challenge?

5

Do Not Stand Idly By: An Action for Gun Violence Accountability

5

Events of Note 5

St. Matthew Passion Performed at Grace Lutheran

6

CROP Walk Needs New Co-coordinator

6

Save the Date: Sacred Spaces

7

COMMON CALL

Oak Park River Forest Communi ty of Congregat ions

Page 2 Common Cal l

T IME TO RENEW

About 50 congregations in Oak Park, River Forest, and surrounding areas participate with the Com-munity of Congregations through membership or support of our ministries like the Holiday Food and Gift Basket, Celebrating Seniors Coalition, and the Annual House of Worship Walk. January marks the start of our renewal season and we hope you will recommit to the Community of Con-gregations as we prepare for 2013. Please consider contributing at one of the recommended levels: Up to 25 members: $100 25-50 members: $200 51-100 members: $300 101-200 members: $400 More than 200 members: $500 Feel free to send your mem-bership dues to: Community of Congregations

P.O. Box 3365 Oak Park, IL 60303-3365

Please contact Katie Avalos with questions at oprfcoc@gmail.com.

COMMUNITY OF CONGREGAT IONS : MARCH COMMUNITY MEET ING

Please plan to join us on Thursday, March 21, 2013 at 7:30 pm at Pilgrim Congregational Church, 460 Lake Street, to learn about the ser-vices offered by Samaritan Interfaith Counseling Center and the newly formed Samaritan Center for Congregations. Samaritan Interfaith offers faith based counseling to people of all faiths be-ing respectful of their faith traditions. They offer counseling services that are based on a sliding scale and ability to pay.

Samaritan Center for Congregations is a division of Samaritan whose mission is to strengthen congregations by helping them discover and utilize proven resources to address the opportunities and challenges they encounter. They can help with issues from staff development to fund development, from conflict management to facilities management, from leaky roofs to leaky budgets. The Samaritan Center for Con-gregations will collaborate with your staff to find and use the right resources for your par-ticular situation.

Presenters for the evening will be Dr. Scott Mitchell, Samaritan President, Dr. Ken Potts, Samaritan Therapist, and Rev. Mike Bradburn, LCSW, Samaritan Therapist.

COMMUNITY OF CONGREGATIONS BOARD NEWS At our Annual Meeting on January 31, delegates elected Bud Hayes from First United Church and Jim Robinson from Oak Park Temple as new board members at large and con-firmed the selection of Leonard Grossman to fill the office of president for another year. At the Feb-ruary Board Meeting, the Board of Directors voted to add Marrey Piccolotti from St. Giles as a new member at large.

The other officers have agreed to continue in their roles, with the exception of Valerie Lester, who has expertly served as treasurer for the past few years. If you’re committed to inter-faith cooperation as well as accurate financial report-ing, this is the job for you. Staff members take care of day-to-day payment of bills and deposit of checks, and the treasurer works with staff to track income and expenses for reporting

to the board and delegates. The treasurer also takes the lead in preparing an annual budget. Valeriehas graciously agreed to make herself available to train the new treasurer, who will be elected to fill out the rest of a two-year term. If you know someone who is interested, email the Nominating Committee Chair Lowell Eckberg at judynlowe@sbcglobal.net.

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EVENTS OF NOTE

In the Spirit of Taizé March 1 at 7:30 p.m

Ascension Catholic Church

808 S. East Ave, Oak Park

More information at www.ascensionchurch.com/taize.html

A Benedictine Experence:

The Everlasting Way: A Medi-tation of Psalm 139 from Women’s Inspirational Daily Prayer by Suzanne Haraburd

Grace Episcopal Church

924 Lake St., Oak Park

March 5 at 7:00 pm.—9:00 pm For more info visit www.graceoakpark.org/A_Benedictine_Experience.html

Movie Night:

“Jesus and the Awakening of God-Consciousness”

Unity of Oak Park

405 N. Euclid, Oak Park

March 8 at 7:00 pm. For more info visit www.unityoakpark.org

Kosher Cabaret featuring

The New Budapest Or-pheum Society

March 9 at 7:00 pm

West Suburban Temple Har Zion 1040 N. Harlem., River Forest-For more information call 708-366-9000 or email office@wsthz.org

PLANS FOR CELEBRATING SENIORS WEEK UNDERWAY The Celebrating Seniors Coalition is moving full steam ahead toward our third annual event honor-ing older adults in our For-est Park, Oak Park and River Forest area.

On January 24th, a group of “stakeholders” assem-bled to hear of the hopes and plans for the week of May 16 to 23, 2013 and to begin to plan the events they will offer to the com-munity.

Nominations for 60 Over 60 will be reviewed by the Coalition committee tasked with forming the Class of 2013 from among all the wonderful older folks who have been pro-posed for the honor this year.

The event calendar will fill up quickly as Villages, Hospitals, Senior Living Communities, Libraries, Park Districts are deciding what they want to share. If your congregation is plan-

ning to offer an event that should be included in our published calendar, please let us know as soon as you can.

Additional news is that our celebration is being recog-nized as a “great idea” and we will be joined by 22 suburbs from Elmwood Park to Schiller Park and from Bedford Park to Wil-low Springs. These com-munities will follow our template and present events, honor 60 Over 60 and publish a Community Guide for their region.

Our Celebrating Seniors May 16 to 23 lawn signs

will appear throughout all of these and our own communities. If your con-gregation has a marquee or

sign board and would be willing to post that you are “Celebrating Seniors” dur-ing our week we would be grateful. If you prefer or would like to have addi-tional lawn signs…please let us know.

Finally, if you are consider-ing some sort of way to honor the older adults among your congregants during Celebrating Seniors Week, please let us know.

Thank you for helping us to extend our program throughout our three com-munities.

Jim Flanagan:

jflanagan@bentron.com

Joe McDonald:

jemcdonald3@gmail.com

Pat Koko:

patriciakoko@hotmail.com

Submitted by Pat Koko

West Suburban Temple Har Zion Planning Trike-A-Thon and Children’s Health Fair On Sunday June 23rd West Suburban Temple Har Zion is hosting its second annual Trike-A-Thon for its camp to raise money for its preschool. Last year was a great suc-cess with parents and chil-dren having a great time.

This year West Suburban Temple will be using Con-cordia’s track and would love to include other camp groups in the event. After the Trike-A-Thon, there will be a children’s health fair with local businesses and vendors specifically

for children. If your con-gregation has a camp or program that you would like to raise money for through the Trike-A-Thon please email Ilana Marczak for information at imarczak@wsthz.org.

Submitted by Ilana Marczak

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FAITH PERSPECTIVES PROGRAM ON HEALTH CARE REFORM

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Colbert. In a December 13 appearance on "The Col-bert Report," she argued gently, with a firm smile, that Christians should stand with the poor. "Jesus invites you to the manger. Jesus invites you to the side of the poor."

The March 10 forum is the second Faith Perspectives program of the 2012-13 season, in which the theme has been healthcare reform. A program in November presented background on the U.S. health care system and the changes that are underway because of the Affordable Care Act. Speakers and audience members also discussed the “faith perspective” on pro-viding medical care to peo-ple who cannot afford to pay for it.

Grace Lutheran Church sponsors Faith Perspectives forums to provide an op-portunity for people of faith to come together, listen, learn and explore thoughts and feelings about social and moral issues. The Sun-day afternoon seminars, held in late fall and again in late winter, offer partici-pants expert information and ethical perspectives on controversial public policy issues. It is the hope of the Grace congregation that by acknowledging different viewpoints while recogniz-ing shared values, churches may become places where people can have compas-sionate and critical discus-sions about potentially divi-sive issues.

Submitted by Gwen Gotsch

During the 2010 congres-sional debate about health

care reform, she wrote the famous “nuns’ letter” sup-porting health care reform and got 59 leaders of

Catholic Sisters to sign on. This action was cited by many as critically important in passing the Affordable Care Act.

Campbell was also instru-mental in organizing the “Nuns on the Bus” tour which drew attention to proposed cuts in programs that help people in need. The nuns traveled through nine states in the heart of the U.S., holding rallies and prayer services, and re-ceived an avalanche of at-tention among religious communities, elected off-cials and the media.

A noted speaker and educa-tor on public policy issues, Campbell’s advocacy is rooted in her faith, in doing what Jesus says we should do. She has appeared with Jon Stewart on Comedy Central’s “The Daily Show” as well as with Stephen

Sister Simone Campbell, one of the women who toured the nation as the “Nuns on the Bus” in the summer of 2012, will be the guest speaker at a Faith Per-spectives program on health care reform at Grace Lu-theran Church, 7300 Divi-sion in River Forest, on Sunday March 10, at 2:00 p.m.

Campbell will speak about her career in public policy and advocacy, as well as about health care issues in America. The program is free and open to all. Tom Lenz of United Power for Action and Justice will comment on health care issues specific to Illinois. Richard Herman, president of Wheat Ridge Ministries, is the moderator.

Campbell is the executive director of NETWORK, a Catholic social justice advo-cacy organization in Wash-ington, D. C. She and her organization lobby on is-sues of peace building, im-migration reform, health-care, and economic justice.

Jack Shea, a theologian and storyteller who lectures na-tionally and internationally on storytelling in world re-ligions, faith-based health care, contemporary spiritu-ality, and the spirit at work movement will speak at Grace Episcopal Church

(Parish Hall, 924 Lake Street, Oak Park) on March 23, 2013 from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. Tickets are $20 in ad-vance and $25 at the door.

Holy Week offers us an-other chance to ponder the stories of the passion, death

and resurrection of Jesus. But we have heard them many times. Despite our best efforts, they suffer from familiarity. If we could learn to hear them as stories of spiritual wisdom, they will reveal our true spiritual condition and inspire and

transform our lives. We will revisit these familiar stories in an unfamiliar way in preparation to participate in Holy Week. Get more info and purchase tickets at: www.graceoakpark.org/Jack_Shea.html

Submitted by Douglas VanHouten

L I STEN ING ONCE AGAIN : HOLY WEEK AS SP IR ITUAL W I SDOM WITH JACK SHEA

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ARE YOU UP FOR THE CHALLENGE? isn’t just for schools. Each year philanthropist Alan Feinstein divvies up his $1 million to anti-hunger or-ganizations who participate in his challenge in propor-tion to how much each or-ganization raises. Fein-stein’s idea is to encourage communities to become more involved with their local food pantries. In 2012 both community and school efforts exceeded our goals. Thanks to you, we collected 17,173 food items and raised a total of $100,742. All of which di-rectly benefited Oak Park River Forest Food Pantry and our clients. We are hoping for even greater success this year, as

we invite community or-ganizations and individual donors to be our partners, so that Feinstein’s gener-osity can benefit the hun-gry in our communities If you are interested in par-ticipating in the Feinstein Challenge, please register your Food and Fund Drive at www.oprffoodpantry.org/events. Monetary dona-tions also can be accepted by PayPal on our website www.oprffoodpantry.org/donate or by check to 848 Lake Street, Oak Park, IL 60301.

Questions? Contact Mike Kelly at Mike@oprffoodpantry.org Thanks for your support.

Submitted by Michele Zurakowski

We learn a lot from the kids in this community—about hard work, dedication and effort. And this time of year, they teach us about philanthropy. During March and April last year, 14 schools in Oak Park and River Forest participated in the Feinstein Challenge holding food and fund drives on our behalf. To-gether they collected 6,691 food items and $2,198.74! This year we’re looking to engage more young philan-thropists in schools in some neighboring communities we serve—including Aus-tin, Berwyn, Elmwood Park, Forest Park, Hum-boldt Park, River Grove and Schiller Park. But the Feinstein Challenge

Animal Ministry

Representatives from Blind Service Association will share touching stories about the spe-cial bonds that develop be-tween people and service ani-mals. Coordinated by Lori Kozon.

Unity of Oak Park

405 N. Euclid, Oak Park

March 10 at 12:45 pm For more info visit www.unityoakpark.org

Taizé

March 15 at 7:30 pm

Cornerstone UMC

171 N. Cuyler, Oak Park

More information at

www.euclidumc.org/taize.htm

Taizé at Unity Temple

March 22 at 7:00 p.m.

Unity Temple

875 Lake Street, Oak Park

More information at

www.unitytemple.org

The Spiritual Business Net-work

For many people, the business world can be challenging as we seek to integrate our spiritual beliefs with our business prac-tices. Join us as we explore the spiritual principles of the Unity movement and ways each one can achieve both business and personal success.

Unity of Oak Park

405 N. Euclid, Oak Park

March 28 at 6:30 pm-8:00 pm For more info visit thespiritual-businessnetwork.org

EVENTS OF NOTE

DO NOT STAND IDLY BY : AN ACTION FOR GUN V IOLENCE ACCOUNTABIL ITY Join hundreds of United Power’s leaders and supporters as we take action for:

Sensible federal and state measures to limit the sale of guns to criminals and to limit civilians’ access to military grade weapons and ammunition.

Responsible practices by gun industry manufacturers and dealers.

Sunday, March 17, 2013 at 3:00 p.m.

Chicago Sinai Congregation,

15 West Delaware Place, Chicago

For more information and to RSVP contact

Tom Lenz (tomlenz@uic.edu) or Amy Totsch (amy.totsch@gmail.com)

Submitted by Bob Haisman

death—through incredibly beautiful and dramatic mu-sic. Experiencing this story and this music is a pilgrim-age, and as you know, any pilgrimage takes time; this concert presentation of the St. Matthew Passion will last about three hours. But don’t be discouraged by the length of the concert; we promise to provide good food and a sip of wine during intermis-sion to make you ready for the second half of the con-cert! (In 18th century Leip-zig, where this music was first performed on Good Friday, the people in the pews listened to an hour-long sermon between the two parts of the Passion.)

The St. Matthew Passion is

Page 6

ST . MATTHEW PASS ION PERFORMED AT GRACE LUTHERAN

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For most of us, the reli-gious holidays of Passover and Easter involve worship and family traditions around the dinner table. For more than 100 musi-cians at Grace Lutheran Church, 7300 Division Street in River Forest, the afternoon of March 24, Palm Sunday, will present a different way to observe Holy Week: the opportunity to perform one of the greatest pieces of music ever written, J. S. Bach’s St. Matthew Passion. Won’t you join us for this free concert?

Originally written in 1727, the St. Matthew Passion tells the story of Jesus’ Pas-sion—his suffering and

probably known best for its use of two choirs and two orchestras, soloists and a treble chorus. A combina-tion of Grace Choir mem-bers and professional sing-ers will form the choirs; the orchestra is made up of some of the very best or-chestral musicians in the Chicago area; and the treble chorus will be made up of Grace School children, youth, and a few adults. The soloists for the concert are soprano Jennifer Ros-setti; mezzo-soprano Karen Brunssen (Grace member); tenors William Watson and Derek Chester; baritones Douglas Anderson (Grace member) and Keven Keys; and bass-baritone Andrew Schultze.

You will not want to miss this concert. The line-up of musicians is second to none, and yet there is no charge for admission, thanks to financial support from the Christopher Fam-ily Foundation, the Sukup Family Foundation, the S. Anita Stauffer Music En-dowment Fund, and the Legacy of Grace Endow-ment, along with individual donors to Grace’s Bach Cantata Vespers series. Childcare will be provided for those who need it. A free-will offering will be received. For more infor-mation call 708-366-6900 or visit www.graceriverforest.org.

Submitted by Gwen Gotsch

CROP WALK NEEDS CO -COORDINATOR The CROP Hunger Walk-athon West Team is seeking a

new Coordinator or Co-Coordinators to join the 2013 Team.

2013 will mark the 30th year of the CROP Hunger Walk in the OPRF area. Because of our wonderful commu-nity, the CROP Walk has been extremely successful over the years, with over a million dollars raised during that time. These funds sup-port the amazing work of

Church World Service, which serves those in need abroad and at home, with 25% of the proceeds dis-tributed to the following local agencies:

Cluster Tutoring

Columbus Park Food Pantry

Forest Park Food Pantry

OPRF Walk-In- Ministry

OPRF Food Pantry

Pine Avenue Food Pantry

Proviso Food Pantry

St. Eulalia Quinn Center

Food Pantry

West Suburban PADS

mentored the first year, lead the second year, and train a new coordinator the third year.

If you are interested in of-fering your time and talent to fight against hunger here and abroad please contact Pat Eichenold at

708-848-5415 or

eichenold@yahoo.com.

We would be happy to meet with you, provide you with details, and answer any questions.

Submitted by Pat Echenold

These agencies provide much-needed services to our community and they are appreciative of the help we give them through the outstanding efforts of all those involved in the CROP Walks, especially now when the need is greater than ever.

For more information please feel free to check out our website at www.oakparkhungercropwalk.org

We are asking for a three-year stewardship commit-ment. The new coordinator(s) would be

Community of Congregations Executive Committee

Officers:

President, Leonard Grossman— West Suburban Temple Har Zion

Vice President, Joe McDonald — Ascension Catholic Church

Secretary, Pam Meyerson — Unity Temple Unitarian Universalist Congregation

Treasurer, Valerie Lester — Oak Park Friends

Immediate Past President, Shawn Schreiner — Grace Episcopal Church

At-large committee members:

Lowell Eckberg — First United Methodist Church

Bud Hayes—First United Church

Marrey Picciotti—St. Giles Catholic Parish

Jim Robinson — Oak Park Temple

Delegates Emeritus:

Harriette Robinet and McLouis Robinet — St. Edmund Parish

To learn more please visit: www.communityofcongregations.org

If your organization has a special celebration or activity that you would like to share with the Community of Congregations network, please send your information to Katie Avalos at oprfcoc@gmail.com by the 25th of the month.

SAVE THE DATE FOR 2013 SACRED SPACES

Community of Congregations is excited to announced our second annual Sacred Spaces House of Worship Walk on Sunday June 23, 2013.

Congregations Include:

Oak Park Temple B'nai Abraham Zion, West Suburban Temple Har Zion, Dominican Priory Chapel,

First Church of Christ Scientist on Harlem, Living Sanctuary of Faith on Belleforte,

Grace Lutheran Church and the Concordia Chapel

Please save the date. Feel free to email us with questions at oprfcoc@gmail.com

Guest Essay: Kindness is not Optional:

Rabbi Brant Rosen of the Jewish Reconstructionist Congregation in Evanston recently posted the following on his blog, Shalom Rav, after a speech he gave as the keynote to the Vision Keepers dinner at an organization not unlike ours, Interfaith Evanston. I thought it was worth sharing.

Len Grossman

Kindness is not Optional: Creating an Interfaith Covenantal Community

by Brant Rosen

I’d like to begin my remarks tonight by sharing with you one of my chronic pet peeves – and I’d like to apologize at the outset to my congregants and loved ones, who are probably getting very tired of hearing me complain about this: I really, really don’t like the saying “Practice Random Acts of Kindness and Senseless Acts of Beauty.”

Now I say this with all due apology to any of you who might have this bumper sticker on your car – I mean you no disrespect. And believe me: I am a huge fan of encouraging kindness and beauty. It’s just that personally speak-ing, I would argue the exact opposite. I would argue for “non-Random acts of kindness and mindful acts of beauty.” After all, if by kindness we mean simple human respect and dignity – qualities that are essential to the core of our basic humanity – I think we would all agree that there should be nothing random about it. Kindness shouldn’t be random – quite frankly, it should be mandatory.

In its way, I think this slogan reflects something very profound about contemporary American culture. As a society that values individual initiative, it is natural that we will view compassion as a random, voluntary enterprise. We act compassionately whenever we feel compassionate. And yes, we might well feel a great deal of compassion: for our loved ones, we may even feel compassion for people we don’t actually know. But the problem with this ap-proach, of course, is that feelings cannot be guaranteed. They come and go. Feelings are, by definition, elusive and transient.

Biblical tradition provides us with a different model. Compassion is not random – it is an imperative. Even love itself is commanded: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” “You shall love Adonai your God.” “You shall love the stranger, for you were once strangers in the land of Egypt.” In other words, feelings are wonderful, but feelings are not enough. Kindness and compassion should not be relegated to random feeling – they should be cultivated as a mindful, ongoing conscious practice. We have to teach ourselves how to be compassionate even if we are not feel-ing particularly compassionate - even if we are too overwhelmed to feel compassionate. Compassion is, for lack of a better word, a discipline.

In the Bible, kindness and compassion are complex and profound concepts. In fact, there are many different He-brew words for compassion. The most well known word, “rachamim,” comes from the root rechem, or “womb” and suggests the kind of unconditional compassion that comes with parental love. More broadly, we might under-stand rachamim as the kind of compassion that we show toward those with whom we have a unique personal con-nection. The word “chen” is usually translated as “grace.” This form of compassion generally refers to gestures of favor or goodwill.

And then there is “chesed,” a word that is usually rendered as “lovingkindness.” As I learned back in my Rabbini-cal school Biblical Hebrew class, “lovingkindness” is probably not the best definition for chesed. It’s a little too general, a little too mushy. Most contemporary Hebrew scholars suggest that a better definition of chesed is

“covenantal loyalty.” Indeed, if we look at the way this word is used in the Bible, it has less to do with a feeling of lovingkindess than a deep sense of responsibility that comes out of sacred relationship. God shows chesed for the Israelites – and the Israelites for God – when they remain loyal to the mutual covenant they established together at Sinai. In another example, Ruth is praised in the Bible for the chesed she demonstrates to her mother-in-law Naomi when she remains loyal to her promise to stand by her side.

In Jewish tradition, this abstract notion of chesed was applied by the ancient rabbis to the everyday life of the com-munity. Chesed societies, for instance, were the prototypical communal welfare institutions that were the corner-stone of Jewish communities for centuries. They too were guided by the central ethic of covenantal loyalty – “commanded compassion,” if you will. At my congregation, as at yours, I’m sure, we have a committee of mem-bers helps members in need, usually due to illness or the loss of a loved one. We call it, naturally, the Chesed Committee. And the members who participate in it will surely attest that they don’t participate out of a desire to be randomly kind, but rather out of the sense of responsibility that comes through belonging to a community. Proba-bly more often than not, the members of the Chesed Committee serve people they don’t even know personally – and that, of course, is precisely the point.

So in its way, chesed presents us with a compelling and important way of understanding collective compassion. It is intimately connected to the concept of covenant and mutual obligation. Chesed is the kind of love and compas-sion that comes from a deeper sense of communal accountability. When a people live in a covenantal context –with chesed – it is with the fundamental understanding that the community is accountable to the individual just as much as the individual is accountable to the community.

By the same token, all of us in the room tonight – we are part of a covenantal community as well. All of us: the congregations that make up Interfaith Action, understand on a deep, spiritually cellular level, that we have an abid-ing sense of covenant with the Evanston community. The Interfaith Action soup kitchens, the warming centers, the homeless hospitality centers, the Producemobile, are much, much more than mere direct service projects – they are expressions of our sacred sense of commitment to the city in which we live – and of the conviction that our compassion for every single member of this community must not be regarded as random or voluntary. On the contrary, we are compelled to feed the hungry, to shelter the homeless out of a collective sense of sacred, covenan-tal imperative.

In this regard, I want to honor the work of our honorees tonight – and all who participate in Interfaith Action – for the sacred work you do. I know you don’t do it just because it makes you feel good. I’m willing to bet there have been plenty of times you went over to a soup kitchen when you were tired or just plain didn’t feel like going. I’m willing to go out on a limb and say there may have been times that you went even while you were doubting that your actions even made a difference. But in the end, you did go – and you continue to go – and you are here tonight because you know that at the end of the day, kindness should not optional.

I’d like to go a bit further now, however, and offer a few thoughts about what an even deeper covenantal obliga-tion might look like for our community. I’ve always believed that religion is at its best when it not only comforts the afflicted, but challenges the oppressive status quo that afflicts them. What does it mean when we literally feed the hungry, but fail to challenge a system that countenances hunger in its midst? Is it enough to provide warming centers, or should we also see it as our religious obligation to ask whether or not our city is also doing everything in its power to provide something as essential to life as heating for all its citizens? On an even deeper level, shouldn’t we be finding ways to challenge an infrastructural reality that makes “warming centers” even necessary in the first place?

I believe that religion is at its best when it manages to balance what I would call the “pastoral” with the “prophetic.” In other words, when our Biblical tradition demands that we clothe the naked and feed the hungry, this is a pastoral imperative. And when we are commanded to speak truth to powerful Pharaohs, to create societies

of fairness and equity, to proclaim liberty throughout the land throughout all the land unto all the inhabitants thereof – this is a prophetic imperative.

And so I’d like to take this opportunity to ask those of us in this room – those of us who act on a deep and pro-found sense of pastoral commitment to the Evanston community: what would it look like for us to create a similar kind of covenantal coalition out of a prophetic commitment? More to the point: do we believe that our city of Evanston is doing what it must to ensure that its citizens are not going to bed hungry, that they have roofs over their heads and heat in their homes? And if the answer is no, then I believe we must ask ourselves: do we believe that holding our own city accountable is just as much a religious obligation as running soup kitchens and warming centers?

Now I know that there are a myriad of complicated policy discussions to be had on these kinds of issues, and I obviously don’t intend to parse them all right now. But I do think that too often we hide behind a mantra of “it’s complicated” to avoid dealing with some fairly simple truths. And just as often, I think, we shy away from policy debates because we feel as though we shouldn’t be mixing religion and politics.

But at the end of the day, however, it’s really not all that complicated. There’s nothing complicated about food, shelter and heat – these are among our most human basic needs. And when it comes to mixing religion and poli-tics, I’ll repeat again: religion should not be only about comforting the afflicted – it’s also about afflicting the com-fortable. It’s about challenging the attitudes of those who view the world with a scarcity mentality that claims there is only so much to go around – and that it’s not our problem if there are those who will inevitably go without.

I hope that gatherings such as this will redouble our resolve to both the pastoral and the prophetic aspects of our faith traditions. I hope that as we go forward with this sacred work, we will find ways to open conversations about what a truly covenantal Evanston faith community might look like. And I hope that in doing so, we might provide a truly prophetic voice of conscience.

Thank you again for all you do. Congratulations to our honorees tonight. May all of our efforts continue to trans-form the lives of others – may they ultimately transform our world as well.

Amen.

Rabbi Brant Rosen | February 18, 2013 Rabbi Rosen's blog, Shalom Rav, is at http://rabbibrant.com/ The following is a link directly to this article. http://wp.me/p1Xax-3sk