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FAITH Interfaith families find support, education at MJCCA BY MELISSA WEINMAN melissaweinman@reporternewspapers.net When Leslie Mintz’s chil dren started coming home singing the Hebrew songs they learned at day care, she decided she wanted to learn them, too. Mintz grew up Episcopa lian, but she married a Jew ish man, and they decided to raise their children in the Jewish faith. “It kind of hit me that I didn’t know a lot about it,” Mintz said. “When I was 25, I agreed to one day raise these children Jewish, and here I am. I want to be an involved mom, and this isn’t my religion.” She began attending a program at the Marcus Jewish Community Center of Atlanta for non-Jewish mothers raising Jewish children. The group was called the Mother’s Circle. “It was education, but it was also a nice support group because other wom en would share challenges they were having,” Mintz said. The Mother’s Circle is one of the out reach programs the Jewish Community Center offers for interfaith families, said Rabbi Brian Glusman, director of mem bership outreach and engagement. “So many of our cou ples and families are interfaith on some level,” Glus man said. Glusman said for both Jews and non-Jews, it has become more com mon and accepted to marry someone from a different SPECIAL religious ground. “There’s a greater ness now,” man said. back- just open- Glus- In the From left, Jason, 7, Leslie, Ryan, 10, and Andrew Mintz. to Judaism. “It jump-started my interest and learning about the cultural and religious side of Judaism,” Mintz said. Glusman said conversion isn’t the goal of the programming at the MJC CA, however. “My job is to make sure people in in terfaith relationships can find a place in the Jewish community,” Glusman said. “We don’t demand anything of them.” Glusman said he’s trying to make all programming at the MJCCA more ac cessible and welcoming for everyone. He believes isolating interfaith families into separate programs i can be counterpro- 1 ductive. “I think that it is distancing and off-putting for some people,” Glusman said. “They don’t want to be singled out. They want to be included. All our programs are open to all, no matter their faith or orien tation. I guess you could call them ‘all faith.’” “In the old days, if a child married someone of a different faith, a parent might have gone into mourning over that. That doesn’t happen anymore.” - RABBI BRIAN GLUSMAN MJCCA DIRECTOR OF MEMBERSHIP OUTREACH AND ENGAGEMENT old days, if a child married someone of a different faith, a parent might have gone into mourning over that. That doesn’t happen anymore.” Glusman said couples from different religious backgrounds often begin to se riously discuss the role of faith in their lives once they have children. “After the thank-you notes are writ ten following the wedding ... there are a host of challenges for people who are in interfaith relationships, especially with children. Children seem to be the cat alyst for addressing these issues,” Glus man said. While attending the Mother’s Circle, Mintz learned about other programs, and started attending more events at the center. She went on a community trip to Israel, and eventually decided to convert Shelly Buxbaum is the director of the Lisa E Brill Institute of Jewish Learning at the MJCCA. She and other instruc tors teach a variety of courses for adults about Judaism, including an Introduc tion to Judaism course, which she said is popular with interfaith families. “Parents of young children want to seriously look at these issues and core values, and understand what their chil dren are learning, and to bring the con versation home,” Buxbaum said. She said the courses are discussion- based, and offer a pluralistic view of Ju daism. “It makes it meaningful for people who are on a journey, who would like to learn about Judaism, who would like to hear a spectrum of opinions,” Buxbaum said. WISDOM TEETH EXTRACTIONS IMPLANTS Present this ad for a free consult and x-ray Valid until 10.1.13, single patient use only Services: Teeth Extractions Dental Implants General Anesthesia Jaw Reconstructive Surgery Hours: M, Tu, Th: 8:00 am to 5:00 pm Wed: 10:00 am to 6:00 pm Fri: 8:00 am to Noon Office: 770-393-8500 Lee “Mac” Whitesides DMD, MMSc. 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