Communities of Faith

Some bright news, via Pam's House Blend, about active steps the Jewish community in New York is taking to combat bullying and persecution of GLBT youth:

Back in October I featured an Op-Ed by Orthodox Rabbi Steven Burg titled "There's no place for bullying in God's world".  As the international director of NCSY, the youth program of the Orthodox Union, Rabbi Burg's Op-Ed provides an important counter-balance to the public anti-LGBT voices of other clergy in his sect.  I have since learned that the Rabbi's very meaningful contribution is only one of many efforts by diverse Jewish faith communities to speak as people of faith in support of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer (LGBTQ) youth and in opposition to bullying. 


Last month Congregation Beit Simchat Torah, Keshet and Nehirim joined together to launch the "Strength Through Community" project, a Jewish response to LGBTQ youth in crisis. The project brings together the many ways these Jewish organizations have begun to respond to the bullying faced by many LGBTQ teens. 

"The energy in the Jewish community around this issue is inspiring - rabbis giving sermons, queer Jews sharing their stories for the fist time, synagogues posting GLBT Safe Zone stickers - and a clear rebuke to the idea that the religious community does not support GLBT members," said Bonnie Rosenbaum, Deputy Director of Communications and Planning at Keshet. 

It would be nice to see the Christian communities raising their profile a bit on something like this.  And it would be even nicer for the MSM to take notice:  it's not fair to people of genuine faith or to us to let the assholes have all the publicity.