Environmental activist speaks at Festival of Faiths
Rabbi Nina Beth Cardin
Rabbi Nina Beth Cardin, an author and environmental activist, will be a featured speaker at the 23rd Annual Festival of Faiths.
Cardin will be among several speakers, panelists and artists from many faith traditions who will focus on the feminine aspects of God, non-dual thinking, the wisdom of the natural world, suffering, healing, emotional intelligence and creativity.
This year’s festival, which runs from April 24 to 28, will explore practices, teachings and insight rooted in feminine wisdom.
Mustafa Gouverneur, director of communications for Louisville’s Center for Interfaith Relations, which organizes the festival, said this year’s theme was not chosen to coincide with the #MeToo movement. In fact, it has been under discussion since 2016.
“This has actually been in the works for some time, Gouverneur said. “Providentially, though, it’s such a timely, urgent, important issue on so many levels.”
He said the festival will explore the unity of the feminine and masculine aspects of God and properly rebalancing the two.
“We don’t just get into a discussion about gender,” Gouverneur said. “This conference is not about gender as such, and it’s not about feminism, but these things are brought in as part of the discussion.”
Within the feminine and faith wisdom frameworks, he added, other issues pertinent to the community will be discussed, such as addiction and the environment (“Mother Earth,” as Gouverneur called it).
That’s where Cardin comes in.
Ordained by the Jewish Theological Seminary in 1988, Cardin served as a JTS administrator and lecturer before her rabbinate took a different turn. She founded the National Center for Jewish Healing in 1994 and started the Baltimore Jewish Environmental Network in 2006.
From 2007 until 2009, she was a general consultant to the Coalition on the Environment and Jewish Life (COEJL). She then founded the Baltimore Orchard Project in 2011, which grows and distributes fruit to the poor in Baltimore.
Jewish Woman magazine named Cardin one of its 10 Women to Watch in 2011.
A prolific author of books, Cardin has written Tears of Sorrow, Seeds of Hope: A Jewish Spiritual Companion for Infertility and Pregnancy Loss (1999), The Tapestry of Jewish Time: A Spiritual Guide to Holidays and Life-Cycle Events, with Ilene Winn-Lederer (2000), Rediscovering the Jewish Holidays: Tradition in a Modern Voice, with Gila Gevirtz (2002), and The Time of Our Lives: A Teen Guide to the Jewish Life Cycle, with Scott Blumenthal (2003).
She also translated and edited Out of the Depths I Call to You: A Book of Prayers for the Married Jewish Woman, and contributed to the anthology The Women’s Torah Commentary: New Insights from Women Rabbis on the 54 Weekly Torah Portions.
Following its motto of “Many Faiths. One Heart. Common Action,” this year’s Festival of Faiths will include a multi-faith, citywide blood drive. Several synagogues, mosques and churches are participating in the drive, which will take place during the five days of the festival.
Visit, www.festivaloffaiths.org for more information about speakers and programs. For tickets, visit www.kentuckycenter.org or call the box office at 502-584-7777.
Goodloe named CenterStage performance, visual arts director
Frank Goodloe III
Frank Goodloe III has been hired by the Jewish Community of Louisville to be its performance and visual arts director for CenterStage and the Arts and Ideas Department.
A member of the CenterStage company for more than 15 years, Goodloe has appeared in many of its productions, including as the Tin Man in Wizard of Oz; Jim in Big River; Karl the Giant in Big Fish; and most recently as Hoke Colburn in Driving Miss Daisy.
Goodloe also directed and choreographed many CenterStage productions, including Smoky Joe’s Cafe and Legally Blonde.
For the 2017-18 CenterStage season, Goodloe stepped further behind the scenes, serving as the main stage production manager, helping guide shows both artistically and technically throughout the season.
In his new position, Goodloe, working alongside Anne Ensign-Urteaga, will oversee all CenterStage Main Stage productions while also coordinating the exhibits in the J Patio Gallery.
His first official day was March 21.
Tiell received Leader Award at Spalding University
Judy Freundlich-Tiell
Jewish Family & Career Services Executive Director Judy Freundlich Tiell received the Leadership Award from Spalding University School of Social Work on Friday, March 2. The award is presented to a transformational leader who has created an inspiring vision of the future, motivated others to engage with that vision, and built a team to achieve the vision.
“This is an honor well deserved,” Peter Resnik, president of the JFCS Board of Directors said in a prepared statement. “Judy’s leadership, locally and nationally, has benefitted JFCS by enhancing relationships with funders and partners, funneling innovative ideas into the organization and creating ongoing development opportunities for board and staff.”
Also recognized at the program were state Rep. Jim Wayne, D-Louisville, who accepted an honorary doctorate; Joqueline “Jackie” Stamps, who received the Advocate Award, which honors one who has represented a client or cause, and systematically influenced decision-making in unjust or unresponsive systems; and Rashaad Abdur-Rahman, who received the Champion Award, is presented to individuals whose work for social justice is passionate, innovative, collaborative, flexible and courageous.
J wins Cool Congregations Challenge
Michael Fraade
The J just became one of five entities to win Interfaith Power & Light’s (IPL) Cool Congregations Challenge, a united effort by religious organizations across the country to address global warming by reducing their carbon footprints.
The Cool Congregations Challenge is an annual contest held by San Francisco-based IPL that is open to congregations nationwide from every faith tradition.
Winners were selected from five categories: cool planner, sacred grounds steward, energy saver, renewable role model and community inspiration.
The J won in the sacred grounds category for its community garden, a volunteer-driven project. Most of its produce goes to the Meyer Food Pantry or for programs within the center, such as senior adult lunches and preschool snacks.
The J also partners with New Roots to host a Fresh Stop Market, which offers fresh produce on a sliding scale to members. In 2017, more than 900 customers bought produce from the market.
And it started a compost system that diverted about 3,800 pounds of organic material from landfills in 2017.
Each of the five winners will receive a no-strings-attached $1,000 prize.
“This is a great opportunity to continue publicizing the work that we have done over the past few years and to build on our success,” Jewish Outdoor Food and Environmental Education (JOFEE) Director Michael Fraade said in a letter to The J officials announcing the prize. “Especially coming on the heels of the Hazon Seal of Sustainability, we have a lot to be excited about and a lot to use as a potential tool to bring in new members, volunteers and supporters who are excited by the prospect of a JCC that prioritizes sustainability.”
The other four winners were churches in Bennington, Vermont; Newport, Pennsylvania; Gallup, New Mexico; and East Saint Louis, Illinois.
NCJW needs volunteers for court watch project
The National Council of Jewish Women, Louisville Section, needs volunteers to help organize and participate in a new Court Watch Project.
The project will evaluate how an open docket affects Family Court.
Volunteers must commit to one morning each week for 2½ months.
Training will be provided late March with a start date soon after. It is not necessary to be an NCJW member.
To volunteer, contact the NCJW at 502-458-5566 or ncjwlouisville@gmail.com.
Bob Tiell retires from JFCS; concludes 40-year career
Bob Tiell
Bob Tiell, director of career services division at the Jewish Family & Career Services, is retiring after 40 years.
During his career, Tiell has influenced thousands of individuals throughout the region, guiding them through college and school advisement, career assessment, planning and development, business start-ups, job placement and other career related services.
Tiell’s last day on the job will be June 30.
“Bob has pioneered the delivery of innovative career services for JFCS, as well as being a locally and nationally recognized leader as a career service provider” JFCS Board President Peter Resnik said in a prepared statement. “We plan to recognize his stellar career and thank him for his service at a later date.”