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II.
Interfaith Outreach Programs
 Interfaith
families pose a unique challenge for the outreach worker.
Because they are underserved and in some cases even shunned
by the community, it is not uncommon for interfaith families
to close themselves off to organized Jewish activities.
At the same time, the lack of receptivity of many branches
of the Jewish community has left a large number of interfaith
families looking to find some way to belong, on their
own terms. Such complexities require a sensitive approach
to outreach that welcomes and nurtures new connections
with the Jewish community. The Jewish Connection Partnership
seeks to strengthen such innovative programs.
Often the best opportunity to conduct interfaith outreach
arises among young families. When they have children,
interfaith couples begin making decisions about the type
of home in which to raise them. Realizing this, the Jewish
Community Center in San Francisco added a Stepping Stones
program, Discovering
Judaism: One Step at a Time, to its successful
Interfaith Connection program. The benefits of such a
program are various: children come away excited about
Jewish holidays and traditions; children and parents share
the joy of learning together; and parents gain a stronger
understanding of Judaism as well as a venue to explore
issues with similar families. The program thus emphasizes
"providing services" as the crucial stage of outreach.
In St. Louis, the Our
Jewish Home program came up with the exceptional
idea of meeting young families where they are: in their
own homes. Trained family educators cater their curricula
to each family's individual needs. Such a personalized
approach provides a welcoming link to greater Jewish involvement
at a time when couples are open to broader community connections.
Our Jewish Home thus concentrates on three important stages
in the cycle of outreach: reaching out, providing services,
and making the transition to the community.
Both of these programs, and indeed many successful outreach
initiatives throughout this catalogue, revolve around
celebrating the Jewish holidays. That's because the holidays
are the foremost portal to Judaism for most people, especially
families with young children. This holds true for the
intermarried as well, and is perhaps the times when they
need communal support the most.
Discovering
Judaism: One Step at a Time
San Francisco, CA
Sponsoring Agency: Jewish Community Center and Jewish
Board of Education
The San Francisco Bay Area is home to one of the nation's
oldest and most successful interfaith outreach programs:
the Interfaith Connection at the Jewish Community Center
of San Francisco. The new Discovering Judaism program
seeks to take intermarried couples with preschool children
to the next step: to provide them with a carefully strategized
program of Jewish learning and holiday observance that
is non-threatening to the non-Jewish partner, as well
as age appropriate and inclusive of the family's children.
In addition, in an effort to impact intermarried and unaffiliated
Jewish families who do not choose to attend a program,
a training program for preschool and after school personnel
to teach Jewish curriculum in innovative ways is being
implemented. The goal is to excite the children about
Jewish learning and have them bring that excitement and
learning to their home.
 "As
the non-Jewish partner in our family, I especially valued
these programs for providing me with a friendly environment
in which to learn more about Judaism and discuss issues
particular to interfaith families. While my husband and
I had decided to raise our children Jewish before our
wedding, we were not affiliated with any temple or other
Jewish group. This was still our situation as we celebrated
our son's third birthday. Joining a temple, which seemed
to be the next logical step, was intimidating to me.
"Then we received the flier about Stepping Stones [One
Step] in the mail. The program was a perfect fit for us.
My son received some basic Jewish education through the
excellent children's program, I received the same as the
non-Jewish adult, and my husband and I had an organized
venue in which to explore interfaith issues with other
couples like ourselves. We were able to attend to our
son's Jewish education while getting me comfortable enough
with my own knowledge of basic Judaism to take the next
step and join a temple, which we did a few months ago."
-- Kim M
(seen with her family in the picture to the left).
Our
Jewish Home
St. Louis, MO
Sponsoring Agency: CAJE and the Jewish Federation of
St. Louis
Our Jewish Home is a personalized family education program
that provides four home visits over the course of a
year to families with children aged 3-6 (preschool/kindergarten).
Home visits are led by trained family educators. The
program is designed to help interfaith families, some
of whom are unaffiliated, broaden their knowledge of
Jewish traditions, beliefs and celebrations through
a curriculum that is individualized to meet the needs
and interests of each family.
 "As
a Jew by choice, I most appreciated the opportunity
to develop a relationship with our educator. She brought
a rich, broad understanding of Judaism to each member
of my family in an open and nonjudgmental way. As a
result of our participation in OUR JEWISH HOME, our
family has implemented many mitzvot into our daily and
weekly routines. It has helped me and my entire family
shift from 'understanding' to 'lifestyle.'"
--
Ronda H.
"OUR JEWISH HOME has truly made a difference in how
we run our home and has helped us create a strong Jewish
environment. Our educator was so loving, warm and knowledgeable
. . . The program was designed to fit our busy lifestyle,
from no-knead challah and laminated recipe cards to
bedtime stories to share with our children."
--
Nathan and Phyllis T.
"The OUR JEWISH HOME
material provoked discussion between my husband and
me that not only raised our level of Jewish observances,
but also made us more aware of why these observances
are important."
-- Susan T.
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