Celebrating Gesher, after 30 Years of Rabbi Laurie and Rabbi Gary sharing their home with community

A Bridge of Outreach and Welcome to Unaffiliated Jews and A Bridge Home

A Sharing of Stories, and a chance to say good-bye to the sacred space that Gesher has been to thousands who have experienced it at its present location.  Gesher will provide a Feast!

Shabbat Afternoon, August 24th at 4pm at Gesher - Please Bring Your Gesher Story* to Share.

RSVP to www.ourjewishhome.org

So, what are we looking for in a Gesher story? We believe that for the last thirty years, Gesher has swum upstream culturally. It has taken aim at helping empower its participants to generate home, whether single or with family or divorced. We’ve wanted to provide a home that inspires other homes. We’ve taken aim at a culture, in America, whose sociology is all about loneliness and have been dedicated to a core value of welcoming the stranger. This is antithetical to the core value that most Americans convey to their children. i.e., that strangers are primarily dangerous. We’ve benefited from this tremendously: our children have grown up interacting with so many strangers becoming friends. Life for them, and us, became a village that has recognized their passion and gift and furthered their well-being and their self esteem. To Jews who are primarily Jews without positive memories, we’ve aimed to provide a deeper sense of belonging, primarily because we’ve found that these Jews often feel like strangers in a strange land. We’ve aimed at providing a different context for their feeling like strangers, and a grounded opportunity to further explore and become involved with the life of Portland’s Jewish community. Gesher has been a Bridge Home, in at least two meanings of the word.

So, here’s where Gesher stories begin, for us...Did you experience welcome in our home? Did it ever nudge you in the direction of a deeper sense of belonging? Did you ever find friendship at our table? Did you feel any of this deeper sense of belonging? Did we help you see that being Jewish was part of an important journey in this world, with amazing resources (spiritual, intellectual, communal)? Were there particular needs that you experienced coming to Gesher that influenced your response?