Gay Rabbi Joshua Lesser spoke about what lead him to become involved in social issues, in a panel discussion on the power of protest in Atlanta “Protests are meant to bring awareness. Protests are hopes that people that don’t look like us join the fight and join the conversations. Protests have led people to be […]
Since becoming Congregation Bet Haverim’s spiritual leader in 1999, gay Rabbi Joshua Lesser has made a mark on the Reconstructionist synagogue and beyond. Membership at Bet Haverim has risen 300 percent, and the congregation has become a model for inclusivity while ending decades of wandering through private houses and rented spaces by moving into its […]
Congregation Bet Haverim celebrated three decades as Atlanta’s first gay and lesbian synagogue with a multimedia presentation about its origins. The occasion is a bittersweet reminder for Michael McNeir-Clark, the only survivor of the shul’s four original founders. “Increasingly during the 1980s, there was a growing sense of urgency: Don’t whine; fix it. Don’t put […]