Rabbi Linda Steigman, of Temple Adath Joseph, St. Joseph, Mo., seated in front of a Hanukkah menorah.
Community conversion class members recently participated in a virtual class Hanukkah celebration. Those in attendance gathered for dinner and conversation that was followed by Havdalah, a group candle-lighting and a Hanukkah sing-along led by Linda Salvay.
Jewish Family Services client Freddie Mae Slaughter receives her tablet from the Tech Connect Program Coordinator Michael Ross.
This year will be remembered as one of the most difficult years ever. Between a worldwide coronavirus pandemic temporarily shutting down our community causing increased unemployment and economic uncertainty and racial injustice caused by violence and protest, more people in our community are hurting. There is one thing that is certain — Jewish Family Services has continued helping thousands making their lives a bit better through its many programs and services. JFS assists others regardless of faith, age, culture or lifestyle.
Riley Tinder (center) was one of the winners of SevenDays® 2020 Kindness Action Competition for a project she planned for students involved with Kansas Special Olympics, several of whom are pictured here. As one of the winners Riley, now a graduate of Basehor-Linwood High School, received a $1,000 scholarship to use for higher education pursuits.
Just one act of kindness can start a ripple to change the world!
Entries are now being taken for the annual SevenDays® Make a Ripple, Change the World Scholarship competition, now under way in Kansas City as part of SevenDays® 2021, set for April 13-25. (Due to COVID-19, all SevenDays® events will be virtual.)
The J’s art studio, the Blitt Family Art Studio, includes seven new pottery wheels, two kilns and two wedge tables to allow the use of white and red clay.
The Jewish Community Center of Greater Kansas City (“The J”) is excited to offer virtual and in-person art classes, led by professional art instructors. The ceramics classes will be in The J’s new expanded art studio, located at the Jewish Community Campus in Overland Park, beginning in January. The in-person classes will ensure safety precautions, including limited participants and a face mask requirement.
The pandemic has added yet another layer of stress facing our teens. Now Jewish Family Services’ YouBeYou program is offering additional resources online to help teens struggling with mental health issues.
A view of Congregation Ohev Sholom’s new Confirmation Wall.
During the October 2020 Congregation Ohev Sholom board of directors meeting, the board voted to allow congregation President Larry Gordon to proceed with a proposed project to honor Ohev’s confirmands by repurposing the main hallway of its building into a Confirmation Wall displaying all confirmation composites.
Justice Melissa Taylor Standridge was sworn in to the Kansas Supreme Court earlier this week. She is believed to the first Jewish woman to ever serve on the court.
By Lacey Storer Contributing Writer
When Melissa Taylor Standridge was sworn in Monday as the newest Kansas Supreme Court justice, she became just the sixth woman to ever serve on the court. And she is believed to be the first Jewish woman to hold that distinction.
When I transitioned into the role of editor last month, I promised to bring back the popular “Listening Post” feature that ran for many years in The Chronicle. I am a man of my word, so here’s the first of what I hope to be many more installments. Keep the material coming my way!
