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9.2.2022

Dear Cheryl,


As I mark one month of working for the Jewish Community Relations Council as the new Project Manager, I am continually wowed by the passion, drive and commitment of this small but strong team. Our staff retreat last week only further emphasized how incredible it is to be working here and I am confident that the coming year will be a successful one full of meaning. I am also grateful for the deep relationships the JCRC has with our wider network of board and council members and colleagues at partner organizations both within and outside the Jewish community. This first month has flown by as I have learned the ins and outs of the JCRC and started to foster my own relationships with those I will be working with on a range of programs. 


When I was interviewing, I asked what a typical day might look like. The responses were all consistent - there isn’t one! And I’m happy to say that this has proven true in the very best way. In just the short time I have been here, I’ve been able to jump into some truly exciting projects; preparing to re-launch Newmark Institute dialogue groups that have been on hiatus due to the Covid-19 pandemic, beginning the initial stages of forming a new dialogue group with the Asian American community, working with partner organizations on upcoming programs and being a part of longer term planning and prioritizing for the JCRC. The opportunity to work across so many important issues is what excites me most about this work. And as we venture back to in-person events, meetings and programs, I look forward to putting more faces with the names I have been hearing and connecting with via phone calls and emails.

Volunteer at Sababa with JCRC

If we haven’t met in person yet, a great way to do that would be by coming to Sababa on September 18th! The JCRC will have a table set up with an interactive activity and I will be there a good portion of the day - I would love to meet you! We are also seeking volunteers to help with our table. Whether you are a board member, council member or just looking for a simple way to connect with us, send me an email at epicker@jcrcstl.org. Volunteer shifts will be scheduled throughout the day (10am-5pm) and you will always be paired with a JCRC staff member. We will also have some fun new swag you won’t want to miss out on!


Wishing you a restful weekend and a Shabbat Shalom,

Elyse Picker

Program Manager

JCRC Updates

Interfaith Trip to Israel: Informational Meeting

Monday, September 19

6:30 pm | Hybrid

Register for the Info Session Here

In partnership with Grace United Methodist Church and the Episcopal Church of the Holy Communion, the JCRC is exploring an interfaith trip of Jews and Christians to Israel and the Palestinian Territories to see the Holy Land through the eyes of the other and learn more about the intersection of faith and politics in the region. The program will include pre-session study in advance of the ten-day trip from July 23-August 3, 2023. Anyone interested in learning more is invited to an informational meeting on September 19, 2022, at 6:30 pm. Click the button above to register and receive the in-person location and Zoom link.  

Student to Student Gears Up for 2022-23

Student to Student is a program of the Newmark Institute

Student to Student began with its first presentations of the school year. Four groups of students went in person to Notre Dame High School in South County to present to the Freshmen Scriptures classes as they embarked on their unit about the old testament. Since the new juniors had not been trained in the program yet, the senior students stepped up and told their stories, answered questions, and made the Torah and the story of the Jewish people come alive. 

Highlights of the day included shofar blowings for the month of Elul by student leaders in each group, and reflections from recent Israel travels from Sarah, Olivia, Sienna, and Stephen. 

JCRC Events
📅 View Our Calendar

Antisemitism 101: Educating and Empowering Emerging Leaders to Respond to the Antisemitism of Today

Sundays, September 11, October 23, November 20

3-8 pm | The J (directions)

Sign Up Here
Open to all current high school students, this 3-part series will empower students to recognize and address antisemitism in their communities and on their high school and college campuses and provide them with resources to address these issues. Although attendance for all parts of the 3 sessions is strongly encouraged, we still welcome your participation even if you cannot commit to all sessions.

A Delicious Bookend Event: Michael W. Twitty

Tuesday, September 13

7 pm | The J in Creve Coeur (directions)

Buy Tickets Here
The James Beard award-winning author of the acclaimed The Cooking Gene explores the cultural crossroads of Jewish and African diaspora cuisine and issues of memory, identity, and food.

In Koshersoul, Michael W. Twitty considers the marriage of two of the most distinctive culinary cultures in the world today: the foods and traditions of the African Atlantic and the global Jewish diaspora. To Twitty, the creation of African-Jewish cooking is a conversation of migrations and a dialogue of diasporas offering a rich background for inventive recipes and the people who create them. 

The question that most intrigues him is not just who makes the food, but how the food makes the people. Jews of Color are not outliers, Twitty contends, but significant and meaningful cultural creators in both Black and Jewish civilizations. Koshersoul also explores how food has shaped the journeys of numerous cooks, including Twitty’s own passage to and within Judaism.

As intimate, thought-provoking, and profound as The Cooking Gene, this remarkable book teases the senses as it offers sustenance for the soul.

Lunch and Learn: Legal Missouri and Other Ballot Initiatives

Thursday, September 15

12 pm | Virtual

Register Here

Legal MO, the initiative that would legalize marijuana for personal use for those 21 years old or older and allow individuals convicted of non-violent marijuana-related offenses to petition to be released from incarceration and/or have their records expunged will be on the ballot in November. What does this mean?

 

Recent research shows that Black people are 2.6 times more likely than whites to be arrested for marijuana possession in Missouri. And marijuana possession arrests during that same time period accounted for 50 percent of all drug arrests in Missouri, placing the state just outside the nation’s Top 10 for the highest cannabis possession arrest rates.

 

To help illustrate the issue further, NCJWSTL is teaming up with JCRC to welcome John Payne, Campaign Manager of Legal MO and Sharon Geuea Jones, the founding member of the Jones Advocacy Group. Payne graduated with a degree in history from Washington University in Saint Louis in 2005. In 2018, he managed the successful campaign to legalize medical marijuana in Missouri. As an attorney and lobbyist, Geuea Jones has advocated on behalf of her clients in the Missouri General Assembly, at the ballot box and in the courts since 2002. In conjunction with the Missouri NAACP and the Missouri Educational Equity Partnership, she is leading the "Let Them Learn" coalition in Jefferson City.

Meet the Janes: The Heroes of Abortion Access Before Roe v. Wade

Thursday, September 15

6:30 pm | Ethical Society of St. Louis (directions)

Sponsored by Access Missouri, American Association of University Women, Ethical Society of St. Louis, Jewish Community Relations Council of St. Louis through the Bohm Social Justice Initiative, Hadassah, MaTovu, National Council of Jewish Women St. Louis, ProgressWomen, WashU Hillel, and Women's Voices Raised for Social Justice

Register Here
In the spring of 1972, police raided an apartment on the South Side of Chicago. Seven women were arrested and charged. The accused were part of a clandestine network. Using code names, blindfolds, and safe houses to protect their identities and their work, they built an underground service for women seeking safe, affordable, illegal abortions. They called themselves Jane. Now that we live in a post-Roe world, The Janes helps us envision the enormous potential for collective action to ensure abortion access.

Prior to the screening, award-winning journalist Charles Jaco will give a brief introduction about his connection to The Janes. At the conclusion of the film, Stacey Newman of ProgressWomen will share information on how you can take action to support access to abortion.

The event is free of charge, but registration is required. There are no walk-ins. Doors will open at 6:30, the movie will begin at 7:00 p.m.
Proof of vaccination or a negative covid test within 24 hours must be shown at the door.

Arts and Faith 2022 Concert

Sunday, September 18

4 pm | Sheldon Concert Hall (directions)

A Program of the Newmark Institute

Reserve Your Free Tickets

Visit JCRC at Sababa

Sunday, September 18

10 am - 5 pm | WashU's Simon Hall (directions)

More Information

Come visit JCRC at our booth at Sababa, St. Louis’ premier Jewish Arts & Culture Festival. We'll have postcards, information, and swag to help you wear your Jewish values with pride!

Community Events

Empower Missouri Fall Friday Forums

Fridays

12 - 1 pm | Virtual

Learn More and Register
Empower Missouri’s Friday Forums are monthly online educational offerings for Missourians to build knowledge on poverty-related policy issues and skills in legislative and grassroots advocacy. For this fall, we have scheduled four sessions covering a wide range of topics:
 
September 9th: Missouri's Private Probation System
October 7th: Tenants' Unions
November 4th: A Case for Reparations
December 2nd: Legislative Preview

Photo ID Clinic: Access is Power

Saturday, September 10

10 am - 2 pm | The Hub (directions)

Volunteer at the Clinic

The Ashrei Foundation is excited to be working closely with the Tabernacle Community Development Corporation (TCDC) and the incredible staff of the College Church Outreach Program to provide this Voter ID Clinic to anyone looking for support obtaining a birth certificate or Missouri photo ID. No appointment is necessary. Parking is available along the street on Prairie Ave or in the parking lot behind the building (access off of Dodier Street). 

Monkeypox Information for St. Louis

Learn More

Anyone can get monkeypox if they come into close contact with an infected person. The community should take precautions and limit skin-to-skin contact or intimate contact with anybody who has monkeypox. 

FlyerMonkeyPox-2 image

Free Mental Health Therapy for Young Adults

Learn More and Apply

New and Innovative Low-Cost Therapy Project for Young Adults: A partnership in mental health care centering the courage it takes to come to therapy. 


We recognize the toll COVID has taken on our young adult community, and the uniqueness for those who have also experienced religious, identity-based, gender-based, and intergenerational traumas. For ANY reason you are choosing therapy, we invite you into trauma-informed therapy with open-minded, wholehearted, courageous therapists who value healing, wholeness, inclusion, and freedom. 


Therapy is private with a matched practitioner based on your individual needs and preferences with the option to meet virtually, in-person at MaTovu, or in-person at B'nai Amoona. 


5 sessions are covered by the grant, with options to continue care through insurance or a sliding scale determined by your practitioner.


This program is made possible by a grant from the Jewish Federation of St. Louis and is a collaboration between The Care Collective, MaTovu, and Congregation B'nai Amoona.  

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You can click here to watch recordings of JCRC's recent programs on our YouTube channel.
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