Adult forum welcomes Rabbi Ed Stafman from Temple Beth Shalom

Adult forum on Sunday, September 22nd welcomes Rabbi Ed Stafman of Temple Beth Shalom, Bozeman as he shares with us the teachings and traditions of Judaism.

The forum will meet at 9 a.m. on September 22nd in the social hall of Christ the King Lutheran Church.

Below is a bio of Rabbi from the Beth Shalom website www.bethshalombozeman.org.

Rabbi Ed Stafman began to serve as Rabbi of Congregation Beth Shalom in August, 2008, following eight years of Rabbinic study and ordination in the ALEPH Rabbinic program, which is part of the Jewish Renewal movement.
Jewish renewal is a worldwide, transdenominational movement, grounded in Judaism’s mystical tradition, and which seeks to bring relevance, creativity, joy, and an all-embracing awareness to spiritual practice, as a way to bring about tikun halev (healing of the heart) and tikun olam (healing of the world). Jewish Renewal rabbis are trained to work in any and all movements of Judaism. Jewish Renewal promotes religious equality for women and all previously disenfranchised Jews, and is open and welcoming towards those of other faith traditions.
Rabbi Ed spent 27 years as a trial lawyer in Tallahassee, Florida, specializing in defending death penalty cases, prior to deciding to attend Rabbinic school. He was largely a secular Jew during much of that time — although he spent 20 years on the Board of a Reform synagogue and 4 years as president — when he discovered “the great richness and wonder in Jewish tradition, texts and practices – so much that I decided to make it his full time endeavor.”
In addition to a law degree and Rabbinic ordination, Rabbi Ed holds a master’s degree in Religion and has completed the coursework (but still lacks a dissertation) for a Ph.D. in Religion of Western Antiquity, which includes early Judaism, early Christianity, and Greek & Roman religion, from Florida State University.
Rabbi Ed is married for 28 years to Beth, a calligrapher, book and graphic artist, a web designer, and a pianist. They have two children, Laura, in her final year of medical student at University of Florida School of Medicine and planning a residency in surgery, and Logan, a recent graduate of Washington University in St. Louis, and now attending Princeton University, where he is working towards his Ph.D in computer science.
Rabbi Ed brings much enthusiasm to Bozeman and, working with the Board, plans expansion of many of the programs of Congregation Beth Shalom. Services, led by Rabbi Ed, are designed to deepen and enrich the worship experience. He loves to teach in our adult education program and is supportive of the work of the social action committee. Rabbi Ed is particularly excited about working with interfaith families and with the larger interfaith community in Bozeman. He is also available for individual spiritual counseling, for visits for the ill, and of course, for all life cycle events.

Link to video from last Sunday's adult forum

Last Sunday, a group from adult forum gathered in the church office to watch a video on "Understanding Islam." The video was interrupted by the computer updating itself and by hick ups in the internet connection.

Here is the link to the video.
You can view it on You Tube. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6NaHhdI5HpE

Cereal drive 2013

As of Tuesday, September 17th we have collected 54 boxes & bags of cereal for the Annual Fall Cereal Drive for the Gallatin Valley Food Bank. Our goal is 300 boxes & bags of cereal collected by October 31st. We are just over one sixth of reaching our goal.

Please consider purchasing extra cereal when you shop for groceries. During the recent recession the Gallatin Valley Food Bank has seen a dramatic increase of requests for food assistance. Those requests include many households with children.

Poverty and hunger are not always visible in Bozeman, especially with the economy on the rebound.
As the Book of Colossians reminds us "Put on Christ" and watch for opportunities to do acts of kindness and mercy in Jesus' name.

Seeing the Underside and Seeing God: Nadia Bolz-Weber with Krista Tippett at the Wild Goose Festival

Several CtK members have let me know they enjoyed hearing NPR's "On Being" this past week. The radio interview featured an ELCA pastor, the Rev. Nadia Bolz-Weber, who is the founding pastor of a quirky congregation in Denver, House for All Sinners and Saints. Here's the whole, unedited interview, on video, from the Wild Goose Festival this past summer. Enjoy!
Seeing the Underside and Seeing God: Nadia Bolz-Weber with Krista Tippett at the Wild Goose Festival from On Being on Vimeo.

A BIG Week!

This is a big week in the life of our community of faith.

The Adult Choir resumes its rehearsals tonight (9/4) and will meet weekly on Wednesdays at 5:30pm. We welcome new Choir Director, Laurie Jo Howard, to the congregation, and look forward to the blessing of great choral music during worship!

Youth Group for 6th-12th grade students (AND THEIR PARENTS) kicks-off tonight as well, with dinner at 6pm and conversation about the year's goals and activities. Bring your family calendar as there will be several dates you'll want to get down!

This Sunday, September 8th, marks the beginning of "regular" age-group Sunday School classes. It's going to be a great year, with classes for children who are 3 years old on up. Preschool through Elementary age children will start off with a time of music in the big classroom. Middle school youth will meet in the church library. High school youth will meet in the upper room. Adults will meet in the social hall - the topic of adult forum for September is World Religions. Come learn more about the variety of faiths practiced here in Bozeman and around the world.

This Sunday is also God's Work. Our Hands. Sunday - we will celebrate the 25th anniversary of the ELCA with a presentation by the high school youth who went on the summer mission trip to the Blackfeet Reservation, a potluck and a Day of Service. The breakdown for potluck items is: last names A-H = main dish; I-Q: salad/side; R-Z = dessert. Service opportunities include volunteering at the Bozeman Marathon to help Family Promise, trail maintenance with the Gallatin Valley Land Trust, joining a hymn sing-along at the Bozeman Lodge, working with the Interfaith Quilters at Hope Lutheran, and potluck clean-up here at CtK. Interested in serving? Call the church office 587-4131 for more information or to sign up.