We have heard your concerns about how we sometimes treat each other. We have a plan; please join us in making it work. As a first step, the Board adopted for itself — and to model for the congregation — a new value of acting with kindness, respect and compassion. We recognize that as a community, we have not always intervened when someone has acted outside this value. Our consultant, Jerry Talley, is creating a training session for Keddem leaders on how to respond in such situations with kindness, respect and compassion.
We are also offering this session as one of the Yom Kippur afternoon workshops. On Yom Kippur afternoon we read from the Torah “You shall not stand idly by the blood of your neighbor. Protest against hatred so that you don’t share that sin. You shall love your neighbor as yourself” (Leviticus 19:16-18). During this time of reflection and atonement, join us in renewing our community by learning how to compassionately protest mistreatment, and by resolving to support others in doing so.
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Acting with Kindness, Respect and Compassion5 comments to Acting with Kindness, Respect and Compassion |
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This is worth a try!
I agree — better behavior is always worth a try!
My Mother ( and Thumper in Bambi) always said if you can not say something nice do not say anything at all. This might become a congregational model. All of us have stuff we do not like about Keddem but maybe just maybe if we all became Thumpers we might survive. This means being quiet about what we do not like or having a formal structure to deal with negative stuff.
There are also many Keddem elephants in the living room which we are not will to remove. But then that is another story.
This is so important. To my mind it is prerequisite to any of the ideas about whither Keddem. How can we be social? appeal to kids? appeal to adults? be an umbrella? etc? without acting with kindness, respect and compassion?
My sense is that we have taken a step back from the brink on this one already, but that we still have a way to go.
Because some of us have looked deeply into this abyss it still has a hold on us. I’d suggest a serious spiritual ceremony of cleansing to break the spell. What better season than the present month of Elul?
To @emoise and @shibsman I will quote Reb Yoda: Try not. Do… or do not. There is no try.