Interfaith and Unaffiliated Families Welcome

Rabbi Judy Epstein, Ph.D. of Manchester-by-the-Sea, MA is pleased to announce the formation of a new congregat.ion to meet the needs of unaffiliated and interfaith families on the North Shore. The new congregation, Congregation Keshet Yam, Rainbow by the Sea, will be launched with High Holiday services. Rosh Hashanah services will be held at the Magnolia Library Center, I Lexington Ave., in Magnolia, and Yom Kippur services will be held at the Manchester Community Center, 40 Beach St. in Manchester-by-the-Sea.

The services will be conducted by Rabbi Judy Epstein and Cantor Joel Davidson of Quincy, MA. who served together as clergy for the Reconstructionist synagogue Congregation Shirat Hayam of Duxbury and Marshfield. Rabbi Judy received her B.A. degree from Yeshiva University, B.R.E. from Boston Hebrew College, M.A. and Ph.D. from the University of Connecticut. She did post doctoral work at Hebrew University in Jerusalem. She received her Rabbinic Ordination in 1994.

Cantor Joel has been a cantor, soloist and organist at many synagogues throughout the Boston area. He is a graduate of Harvard University where he majored in music. A recent graduate of the Hebrew College Me'ah program, Cantor Joel and has been a member of the Zamir Chorale.

Congregation Keshet Yam: Rainbow by the Sea, is an outgrowth of the work that Rabbi Judy has done with interfaith couples over the past eight years. She noted that while the couples and their young families had outlets for celebrating Hanukkah and PassoVer with family and friends, there was often no place for them to celebrate the most important holidays in the Jewish calendar, Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur.

Congregation Keshet Yam will help these couples and families experience the solemnity and joy of this special time of year, without making the kind of financial commitment synagogue membership requires. Services at Rainbow by the Sea will serve as an introduction to observing these Holy Days for families wh.o are not yet ready to join a synagogue.

Tickets for the services are very reasonable, services are shorter than in mainstream synagogue services, and the Reconstructionist service is egalitarian and welcoming of all religious affiliations and respecting all human differences. T'ickets can be obtained by visiting www.RainbowByTheSea.org, or by calling 978-526-7655. Following High Holiday Services, other services and events will be held in response to the requests and needs of participants. ant holidays in the Jewish calendar, Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur.

Congregation Keshet Yam will help these couples and families experience the solemnity and joy of this special time of year, without making the kind of financial commitment synagogue membership requires. Services at Rainbow by the Sea will serve as an introduction to observing these Holy Days for families wh.o are not yet ready to join a synagogue.

Tickets for the services are very reasonable, services are shorter than in mainstream synagogue services, and the Reconstructionist service is egalitarian and welcoming of all religious affiliations and respecting all human differences. T'ickets can be obtained by visiting www.RainbowByTheSea.org, or by calling 978-526-7655. Following High Holiday Services, other services and events will be held in response to the requests and needs of participants.