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Community Corner

Shabbat Service Celebrating Cleveland's LGBT Pride Weekend

All are welcome to the 6:15 p.m. service Friday, June 24, at Anshe Chesed Fairmount Temple

Gay and lesbian Jews have come a long way since a group of them formed their own religious congregation, Chevrei Tikva, in 1984.

“At that point, being out at mainstream synagogues was not acceptable at all,” said Chevrei Tikva member Joyce Donnelly. “If you went to services, you hid your sexual identity. It was uncomfortable being yourself.”

The newly formed group remained semi-closeted at first, meeting quietly at private homes.

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“People used only first names,” Donnelly said. The congregation “had to protect itself from outside negative comments and attitudes. Gradually over the years, as we became more acceptable, we would become more visible and participate in the Pride parade and things like that.”

The newfound acceptance cut two ways. While the group felt comfortable meeting at borrowed spaces – such as the Civic Center and Unity Unitarian Church – their membership decreased.

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“More people went back to their home congregations,” Donnelly said. “Financially, we couldn’t sustain ourselves. We needed to affiliate with a mainstream congregation, and that turned out to be Fairmount.”

Chevrei Tikva, which became part of in 2005, holds monthly Shabbat services independent of the main congregation at 8 p.m. every third Friday.

This month, the time and date were changed to 6:15 p.m. – the time of the weekly Shabbat for the entire Fairmount congregation – and Friday, June 24, to coincide with the LGBT community’s celebration of Cleveland Pride Weekend.

“This month, everybody is gathering together,” said Rabbi Robert Nosanchuk, who will speak on the topic Born this Way: Lessons on Acceptance from TV’s “Glee” and Torah.

Don’t worry. Nosanchuk doesn’t plan to break into song like Lady Gaga, although the Congregational Band is scheduled to play. The rabbi took the title of his talk from an episode of Glee, named for the Lady Gaga song, that focused on LGBT issues, to use as a hook for his broader comments.

 “Our community, the nation’s been touched by so many losses of young people in the last year – many years actually – who’ve been treated so poorly because they’re gay or lesbian or part of the GLBT community,” Nosanchuk said. “We can do our best as a Jewish community to be affirming, loving, and do the work that it takes to be inclusive.”

 The Fairmount congregation has lived up to its name, Anshe Chesed, which means “people of kindness,” Donnelly said.

 “We have felt welcomed and valued,” she said. “While we feel comfortable and secure at Fairmount Temple and the Jewish community in general, we know that in the larger culture we still have many battles to fight to take our rightful place in American life.

 “It’s wonderful that we’ve achieved this comfort in our community and in our temple, but we still have a long way to go to keep working toward true acceptance.”

 All are welcome to the Shabbat service celebrating Cleveland Pride Weekend, which begins at 6:15 p.m. Friday, June 24, at Anshe Chesed Fairmount Temple, 23737 Fairmount Blvd.

 The 23rd Annual Cleveland Pride Parade, Rally and Festival will take place from noon until 8 p.m. Saturday, June 25, at Voinovich Park behind the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. 

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