Unless otherwise noted, all events are virtual. Some events require an RSVP or enrollment in our programs, so please confirm your spot in advance. Please check directly with JFS on program dates, as dates may change.
Virtual Service of Spiritual Renewal
For the High Holidays
Join this expressive and supportive online
gathering as we share traditional and contemporary prayers, songs, and readings in preparation for the upcoming High Holidays.
The service includes moments for personal
reflection and meaningful closure of the current year, combined with words of hope for the year ahead.
All are welcome.
Please RSVP to chaplaincy@jfskc.org with your Name & Email address to receive a link.
Call 913.327.8250 for more information.
Premieres Thursday, December 3rd, 2020 at 6:30 p.m.
All are welcome.
Please RSVP via email with your name & email address to receive a link. Call 913.327.8250 for more information.
Featuring Lezlie Zucker (Music Coordinator at Congregation Beth Torah), Coleen Diecker (Jewish Community Musician), and Rabbi Jonathan Rudnick (JFS Community Chaplain)
Join this expressive and supportive gathering in preparation for the festival of Hanukkah. We will join in traditional and contemporary prayers, songs, and readings.
The service includes moments for personal reflection to guide us away from darkness and head us toward the light of the season.
Communitywide service for Spiritual Renewal offered virtually beginning March 18
Life is a journey – a sacred path with unpredictable terrain. We need comfort and care, both when we celebrate and when we struggle, when we rejoice and when we mourn.
As we approach Passover and prepare to celebrate the Festival of Freedom, we are reminded of the Exodus, being led out of the confines of Egypt and toward a future filled with hope and freedom.
While COVID-19 limits us from gathering together in person in a safe manner, the Communitywide Service of Spiritual Renewal for Passover will take place virtually. This expressive and supportive gathering will premiere at 6:30 p.m., Thursday evening, March 18. This online format will allow everyone to join in this meaningful service from the comfort of their own homes.
Join this expressive and supportive gathering in preparation for Passover where we will share in traditional and contemporary prayers, songs and readings. The Jewish Chaplaincy program, under the auspices of Jewish Family Services, hosts the Service of Spiritual Renewal.
The gathering will be facilitated by Jewish Community Chaplain Rabbi Jonathan Rudnick, Lezlie Zucker, music coordinator for Congregation Beth Torah and Rabbi Monica Kleinman, director of Lifelong Learning at Beth Torah.
“While we cannot physically be together, we can gather spiritually,” Rabbi Rudnick said. “I find this service powerfully connecting, both as an individual and as a small community. We would love to welcome you and anyone you’d like to bring.”
Those planning to attend the virtual service should RSVP to chaplaincy@jfskc.org and include both their name and email; a link for the service will be sent to them. The service will also be available afterward at jfskc.org. For more information, please email chaplaincy@jfskc.org or call (913)-327-8250.
This year’s Tisha B’Av observances will include a virtual discussion at 4 p.m., July 18: From Destruction to Redemption: Personal Stories of Addiction and Recovery hosted by the Rabbinical Association and Jewish Family Services of Greater Kansas City.
Hear from members of the community who have suffered personally or have a loved one who has suffered from addiction. The program will also include reflection of the path from addiction to recovery as a form of transition from destruction to redemption.
Participants will include: Rabbi David M. Glickman, Congregation Beth Shalom, who will share the story of his brother’s struggles with addiction; Mia Cohen, a recording artist and social media branding specialist currently working for Jewish Family and Career Services in Atlanta; a college student; an adult who has struggled with addiction; and Marla Kauffman, executive director and founder of Jewish Addiction Awareness Network (JAAN), whose son is in a long-term recovery from substance use disorder. Kauffman has been active in the Seattle Jewish community since relocating there with her husband, Joe, in November 2019.
Sarah Link Ferguson, development officer at First Call and member of Congregation Koi Ami, will moderate the discussion. Ferguson is also a member of the recovery community and has written about her experience as a Jewish person in recovery for outlets such as Tablet magazine and the Temper. She is passionate about destigmatizing issues such as mental illness and substance use disorder especially within the Jewish community.
“We are excited to hold this important community discussion especially at this time. Talking about addiction has always been somewhat of a taboo subject in the Jewish community, but the number of individuals with substance abuse disorder has dramatically increased due to the pandemic,” said Rabbi Jonathan Rudnick, Community Chaplain at Jewish Family Services and co-organizer of the event. “We are hoping this will be the beginning of many more discussions and a pathway to help for many individuals.”
Register for the virtual program : https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSer_AM1wqqIJlc75r4FTpuiercPI_eRPrjOM9rBJK28LRcDsQ/viewform.
Tisha B’Av (The nineth day of the Hebrew month of Av) is a day of national mourning. The holiday primarily commemorates the destruction of the 1st and 2nd Temples, but also other tragedies of the Jewish people. The community Tisha B’Av observance will be held at 9:30 p.m. July 17 at Beth Shalom and online.
For more information, visit kcrabbi.org or contact Annette Fish, Rabbinical Association Administrator/Program Director at afprogram@aol.com or 913-327-8226.
Join this expressive and supportive gathering in preparation for the festival of Hanukkah. We will join in traditional and contemporary prayers, songs, and readings at Village Shalom’s Social Hall on Sunday, Nov. 14, 2021.
The service includes moments for personal reflection to guide us away from darkness and head us toward the light of the season. All are welcome, and masks are required. Please RSVP to chaplaincy@jfskc.org. Include your name, number in your party, and email address. The service will be recorded and will be posted on our website.
Join us on Sunday, March 20 for this expressive and supportive gathering in preparation for Passover, when we are reminded of the Exodus, being led out of the confines of Egypt and toward a future filled with hope. We will share in traditional and contemporary prayers, songs, and readings.
All are welcome.
Masks are required
Please RSVP to chaplaincy@jfskc.org. Include your name, number in your party & email address. Afterwards, a recording of the service will be posted at jfskc.org. For more information, call (913) 327-8250.
Join Rabbi Jonathan Rudnick, Lezlie Zucker, and Rabbi Mark Glass for this expressive and supportive gathering as we share traditional and contemporary prayers, songs, and readings in preparation for the upcoming Hanukkah season.
All are welcome and masks are required. Please RSVP to chaplaincy@jfskc.org. Include your name, number in your party & email address.