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Community Corner

Actions Speak Louder than Words: Choose to ACT this April 24 through April 30

Since 1988, the first Thursday in May has been declared a National Day of Prayer. This year, Kol Hadash Humanistic Congregation on the North Shore and Foundation Beyond Belief have other plans.

 

“Collective prayer is good, but collective action is better,” says Kol Hadash Rabbi Adam Chalom. “We’re taking this opportunity starting on April 24 to change the world for the better by choosing to ACT."

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The Week of Action takes place the week before National Day of Prayer and Reason, and is a way to come together regardless of beliefs to benefit our communities. Whether you spend May 1, 2014 praying or reasoning, spend the last week of April acting.

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"Whether it’s lending a hand or a dollar, giving someone who’s feeling down a hug or a smile, or donating something you no longer need to another, each of us can make a positive difference in someone else’s life, and it only takes a moment," comments Rabbi Chalom.

 

Kol Hadash Humanistic Congregation empowers its members to make independent choices, to live with integrity, and to create positive change in the world. Kol Hadash believes that individual responsibility shapes lives of significance and dignity. Choosing to ACT, doing something special for someone in need, is one way Kol Hadash members and their friends in the community are changing the world for the better.

 

o   The entire Week of Action, April 24-April 30, the Chicago Coalition of Reason (www.chicagocor.org), of which Kol Hadash is a founding member, is sponsoring a Chicagoland blood drive – visit www.lifesource.org or call 877-543-3768 – tell them you are donating with the Chicago Coalition of Reason, group code 776A.

 

o   On April 26, from 4 - 5:30 pm: Kol Hadash members and friends of all ages will be volunteering at Bernie’s Book Bank in Lake Forest, sorting and packaging children’s book for distribution to at-risk children.

 

o   On April 27 at 11:30 at Deerfield High School Kol Hadash adults and children will be making fleece blankets for Chai Lifeline. This amazing organization works to restore the light of childhood to children whose innocence ended when life-threatening or lifelong illness was diagnosed.

 

o   If you'd like to participate in either Kol Hadash event, email: communityservice@kolhadash.com.

 

Not sure what to do? The Week of Action website (www.weekofaction.org) includes ideas and the opportunity to register group events. Whatever you choose to do, be sure to share your actions through Facebook and Twitter with the #choosetoACT hashtag.

 

“There is so much we can do for one another if we choose to make a difference, if we choose to ACT,” concludes Chalom. “Thinking about what needs to be done is valuable. But doing something about it is what really matters.”

 

Read more from Rabbi Adam Chalom about the Week of Action here.

 

About Kol Hadash:

Kol Hadash Humanistic Congregation is part of the worldwide movement of Secular Humanistic Judaism.

 

We believe that human beings possess the intelligence and wisdom to determine the purpose and course of their lives without the need for supernatural guidance or protection. We use human reason, initiative, and courage to formulate and achieve our noblest aspirations.

 

We believe we are Jewish by virtue of our participation in the history of the Jewish people. We interpret Jewish history as the product of human decisions and actions.

 

We believe in the fundamental importance of individual responsibility to shape lives of significance and dignity.

 

We encourage our children to value their Jewish identity and to feel confident in their ability to think for themselves.

For more information about Kol Hadash, visit

http://www.kolhadash.com, or call 847-383-5184. 

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