Support Secular Jewishness

Shalom, Friends:

As COVID-19 continues to spread, the future has never felt so unpredictable. These are challenging times for us all, and we at the Cultural and Secular Jewish Organization (CSJO) hope you are in good spirits and health! Right now, we’re doing everything possible to sustain daily operations and provide services to our communities. While there’s a lot of uncertainty, we know that we need to adapt fast to our changing reality. As of now, CSJO will continue to offer virtual activities. As things improve, we will slowly change our course in a safe and secure manner.

Over the last 18 months of the pandemic we have used a virtual platform to host two conferences, monthly shabes programs, peysake and tu b'shvat programs, book club,meetings and a number of other offerings. Joining our affiliates virtual programming has enabled us to stay in touch while travel has been very difficult and often impossible during the pandemic. We have used our virtual platform to meet with like-minded folks in other countries, such as the French group Liberte du Judaisme and to continue to collaborate with other progressive Jewish and secular organizations.

Sadly, we were unable to have our 50th and 51st conferences in person. Our in-person conferences are our largest fundraisers. Now, more than ever, CSJO needs you. Your donation can help us. You can go to our website -- www.csjo.org -- and pay with a credit card or send a check, payable to CSJO, to:

Joan Kurtz, Treasurer,
359 Main Street Unit 3B
Eastamptom, MA 01027

You can also advocate for us by sharing our mission (focused on promoting and educating a secular Jewish worldview rooted in justice and peace) with a family member or friend. Even a quick mention on your social media would mean the world to us. In times like this, we are reminded of how interconnected we all are.

Thank you for being part of our CSJO community. Without you, none of it is possible.

Shanah Tova! Gut Yontif! Happy New Year!

Terry
Terry Waslow
Executive Director

Sarah
Sarah Waslow-Washington
Chair

CSJO 2021 Annual Conference Select Presentations

On Memorial Day weekend 2021, CSJO celebrated its 51st annual conference. Sadly, though, it was a virtual conference. Our theme was: Interconnections: Networking, Supporting and Growing Together. This allowed us to introduce similar organizations and groups to our members.

One of the speakers was Rebecca Markert, the Legal Director for Freedom from Religion Foundation (www.ffrf.org) talked to us about the need for separation of church and state and how Christian nationalism is such a threat to our democracy. Download Rebecca’s presentation.

Then Kevin Bolling, the executive director of the Secular Student Alliance (www.secularstudents.org) presented how his organization offers a safe community on campus for high school and college youth to gather with like-minded atheists, agnostics, freethinkers, humanists and others. Download Kevin's presentation and view a version of the presentation from the American Atheists' conference.

Liv Randall is the Community Engagement and Development Specialist at US Together (http://ustogether.us) in Cleveland (an affiliate of the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society (HIAS). Her presentation outlined how her organization helps refugees from all over the resettle in the greater Cleveland area. Download Liz's presentation.

CSJO’s own 16-year-old Rebecca Ireland discussed what and how activism is a key part of her young life and encouraged us to do the same. Download Rebecca's presentation.

Mark Tiborsky, a local Cleveland resident, gave us a presentation on how his group, Northern Ohio Freethought Society, a chapter of the Freedom From Religion Foundation, used billboards and activism to counter the challenges of church and state separation.

The Board of CSJO is already making plans for an in-person conference in 2022. More information to follow.

Parlez-Vous Francais?

By Joan Kurtz

Recently, the Executive Committee of CSJO held a virtual gathering with our sister organization in Paris, France! Liberte du Judaisme (LJ), founded in 1987, is a secular Jewish organization comprised of individuals throughout France as well as outside France. LJ “represents a place of reception and transmission of Judaism for Jews of all social categories and of all origins, in particular for spouses of mixed marriages and their children as well as for non-Jews interested in cultures and Jewish worlds.”

We started corresponding with LJ after the 2015 Islamist terror attacks and have shared newsletters and updates since. CSJO reached out to LJ and organized a virtual gathering to see how they are faring during this pandemic. Fortunately, they had six members who spoke English as none of us spoke French. We shared out histories, what activities we offer our members, what are our future plans, as well as how to gain young members. We enjoyed these conversations so much that we will again meet virtually to continue some of these discussions.