Recent News and Events at CRC

CRC Participates in Pride Fest!

June is Pride Month for the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) community.  On Sunday, July 29, we walked in the annual Pride Parade with our friends from Metropolitan Community Church (MCC) of Greater St. Louis.  We had a great time, despite a brief rain shower!

Click here for a full report and lots of photos from the parade.

CRC's Religious School Helps Fight Childhood Lead Poisoning

Every year, students in CRC’s religious school programs collect tzedakah money to donate at the end of the year. This year, we donated our tzedakah money to help the St. Louis University Health Resource Center (HRC), a student-run free health clinic in North St. Louis City, fight childhood lead poisoning.

Julie Berg, the daughter of long-time CRC members, a product of CRC's Religious School and a former teacher in CRC's Shabbat School, is now a medical student at St. Louis University.  She and a classmate are working to run the HRC.  Because Julie knew about CRC's longstanding commitment to tikkun olam, they approached CRC for help purchasing an important new testing machine.

The new machine will allow the clinic to screen children for lead poisoning within three minutes, using only a finger prick. The current testing method involves drawing a tube of blood from the child’s arm and sending it to a lab, and can take weeks to get results. The new method will allow the HRC to screen every child at the clinic, reduce trauma to the child, eliminate the risk of losing affected patients, and start treatment earlier.

Julie and her classmate brought the request to CRC's Shabbat School students.  The students listened to the description of the new machine, asked many questions about preventing, diagnosing, and treating childhood lead poisoning, and enthusiastically agreed to donate their tzedakah money to help the clinic purchase the new machine.

Congratulations to CRC’s students for supporting such a worthy cause!

CRC Celebrates 20 Years of Joy

Joy Lieberman recently celebrated her 20th anniversary
as a CRC employee. Joy currently is our Receptionist and Membership Secretary.

The staff took time out for a celebration and recognition
luncheon. Click here for more pictures.

Students "Graduate" from CRC's Rainbow Connection Program!

Several of CRC's youngest scholars "graduated" from Rainbow Connection recently.  Next year, these students will begin Shabbat School at CRC.  Click here for more photos of our Rainbow Connection graduates!

Holy Ground Paints Fences at Mullanphy School!

CRC joined other Holy Ground congregations on May 17 and 18 to paint over old lead-based paint at Mullanphy School.  We had a lot of fun and made Mullanphy School safer for kids!  Click here for more photos.

CRC Hosts Missouri Health Care

for All Breakfast
May 5, 2008

Missouri Health Care for All, the statewide movement for healthcare reform that CRC helped launch, held a Faith and Community Leaders Breakfast at CRC on Monday, May 5.  Nearly 100 attendees heard from a panel of speakers about the topic "Health Care for All: What's Possible for Missouri." 

Click here for more photos, a full report, and links
to the speakers' presentations..

We encourage all CRC members to join Missouri Health Care for All.  To learn more or to sign on to the Missouri Health Care for All Principles, visit:  http://ga6.org/campaign/hcfa_principles.

CRC Volunteers Help Make the

Decline to Sign Campaign a Success!

May 4, 2008

Central Reform Congregation members, working as part of the broader WE CAN coalition, won a tremendous victory when the deceptively named Missouri "Civil Rights" Initiative failed to turn in signatures which would have placed a constitutional ban on affirmative action on the November ballot.

Click here for more photos and a full report!

CRC Holds Darfur Awareness Month

CRC's Social Responsibility Circle designated April 2008 as "Darfur Awareness Month."  As part of this month, we held a screening of the film Darfur Diaries: Message from Home and heard speakers at Social Responsibility Shabbat.  Members also signed postcards to their U.S. Senators and Representatives urging action. 

CRC also raised money for the Solar Cookers Project, which provides solar cookers to women and families that reduce the need for women and girls to go on dangerous trips for firewood.  The following people and groups at CRC have now collected money for this important project:

• B'Not 6 for their B'Not Mitzvah in November 2007:$8,000
• Hannah Cropf for her Bat Mitzvah in April 2008: $2,350
• Social Responsibility Circle for Darfur Awareness Month in April 2008: $234
• CRC's 9th Grade Teen Program in May 2008: $915

As a congregation, we have collected a total of $11,499 for the Solar Cookers Project!

The need for action to help the people of Darfur continues.  Please watch the CRC e-announcements for further involvement opportunities.

LGBT Seder

April 25, 2008

The LGBT Seder enjoyed a brand new Haggadah this year. It was written by our former intern, his partner, and friends. It included LGBT relevant topics along with the words we have always known.  We had a wonderful turnout, some "old" faces and some "new". Three of our "new" faces were kids!  Our new baby Avi just keeps getting cuter. And Daniel and Julia had great fun finding the Afikomen.  They later bargained with Rabbi Susan for some great stickers! A good time was had by all. And the food was terrific too!

Fifth Annual Women's Seder

April 23, 2008

The Fifth Annual Women's Seder was as special as the preceeding four. We continue to update and add to our Haggadah by making it more and more relevant to ancient and current times.  We were graced by the presence of Ree Hudson and Elsie McGrath, the new women priests, this year. When Rabbi Susan explained the orange on the seder plate, she addressed them when she said, "An orange belongs on the seder plate as a woman belongs on the bimah." A smile was shared all around. The food was good, as usual, and the company even sweeter.

CRC 9th Graders Lobby on Capitol Hill!

CRC's 9th Grade Class has just returned from the four day L'Taken seminar in Washington, DC.  While there, the students learned about multiple social justice issues, about advocacy, and about the Jewish teachings related to tikkun olam.  The weekend culminated in a trip to Capitol Hill, where CRC's students lobbied in the offices of Senator Claire McCaskill, Senator Kit Bond, Representative Russ Carnahan, and Representative William Lacy Clay.  Students got to choose their lobbying issues; CRC's students chose to lobby on climate change, ending the war in Iraq, workplace equality for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender employees, gun control, and homelessness.  For pictures from the weekend, click here.

Chavurah Motek Goes Swimming

CRC's chavurah of families with little children (Chavurat Motek) met on Satur-day March 1 at the Little Fishes Swim School in Brentwood.  "Motekim" spent time swimming, playing and making Havdalah. Photos...

Spiritual Enrichment Weekend Examines Balance and the Wholeness Woven of Diversity.
Read two accounts from members who participated.