Inclusion
Ahavath Achim Synagogue creates a vibrant, inclusive, spiritual community that empowers individuals to connect Jewishly beyond themselves and find purposeful belonging. We strive to meet each person where they are and make our spiritual offerings accessible to all who seek them.
Our spiritual community serves all who wish to connect with us. No matter where you are on your spiritual journey—from lifelong Jew, to living Jewishly, to interested in Judaism—we welcome you. AA embraces interfaith families who desire to be part of our Jewish community.
The AA community embraces interfaith families and seeks to help them meet their Jewish spiritual needs. When the child of an interfaith couple celebrates Bar/Bat Mitzvah parents often have questions about how the parent of another faith or his/her family may participate in the service. Our practices, especially regarding the parents of the young person, are informed by two preeminent values: (1) We wish to project that parents have equal loving and respected standing in the eyes of their children, and (2) We believe the decision of a parent of another faith to raise children exclusively as Jews is heroic. Accordingly, we welcome (but will not obligate) both parents:
- To participate in the multi–generational passing of the Torah Scroll as we begin the Torah service
- To stand at the Torah together as the Jewish parent offers the Aliyah blessings
- To stand together on the bimah as the rabbi offers a family blessing
- To speak aloud to his/her child on the bimah as is our present practice
We also welcome the participation of other family members of another faith by, for example, offering an appropriate reading. We also welcome them to stand and be recognized by the congregation as family members when the rabbi invites the entire family to rise and offer the words of the "Shehechianu" blessing.
The Interfaith Inclusion Committee (IIC) serves as a welcoming committee and support group for those individuals and families who are exploring Judaism and its rich traditions. We offer welcoming opportunities to help introduce and share the traditions and customs of Judaism with families and individuals who would like to find a connection with Judaism for them, their families, and their friends. We plan activities and opportunities to make our synagogue a warm and open environment and hope you will join us in this endeavor!
Questions? Contact the co-chairs: Julia Bernath (bern4151@bellsouth.net); Amy Landrum (amystrevelandrum@gmail.com).
The Inclusion and Belonging Initiative seeks to empower people of all abilities by creating physical, emotional, and spiritual space so that all people that want to be part of our community feel welcome and belong. We do so by making physical changes necessary to achieve these goals, providing consultation and interaction with AA committees, seeking best practices from other spiritual institutions and task forces with similar mandates, developing pathways of communication inside our synagogue related to inclusion and belonging, instituting education initiatives, and more. Always looking for more ideas to make sure that everyone who desires to be part of our community is able! If you have specific needs or requests to make your participation in our shul easier, we will do our best to advocate for you.
Questions? Contact the chair: Shelly Dollar (404.358.7960).
The LGBTQ+ Task Force is committed to creating a place of deep belonging for all individuals, regardless of gender or sexuality. This year, we were chosen by several communities across the South to be a part of the Shivyon program. Through this program, sponsored by Keshet and Sojourn, we are learning about how to be a more welcoming community and tackling several initiatives that we hope will create a more loving home for all.
Questions? Contact Rabbi Laurence Rosenthal (lrosenthal@aasynagogue.org).
