Keep Our Light Shining Bright
A Pre-Hanukkah Workshop on Staying Resilient and Hopeful in Painful, Challenging Times
Cherie Brown is the President of the Board of The Shalom Center, and is presiding over one of our most important moments in the 40 years of our history — our transformation onto The Shalom Center 2.0. But her involvement goes way way back. It includes working with Rabbi Mordechai Liebling and me decades ago to raise support and signatures for two major statements about making peace in the face of disaster between Israel and Palestine. In all these roles as well as in her capacity as CEO of the National Coalition Building Institute (NCBI), Cherie helps groups break through what divides them and reach for connection and bridge building. — AW, editor
Dear friends,
As we all continue to grapple with the painful and complex impacts of current events, The Shalom Center invites you to a pre-Hanukkah experiential workshop, facilitated by Cherie Brown, which offers an opportunity to learn and practice skills to stay hopeful and resilient in the face of excruciatingly hard times.
In particular, the Israel Gaza war has already taken so many lives, both Israeli lives and Palestinian lives, with no end in sight. This war has left so many of us heartbroken, filled with fear for both the Jewish people and the Palestinian people, and not always sure where to turn for support. And on top of that, all of the intense emotions that are coming up for so many of us now are making it extremely difficult to stay close to friends, family, colleagues, neighbors — particularly in the face of intense disagreements about the war.
In this session, Cherie will teach a set of practices for staying strong and maintaining resilience and closeness in these ever so trying times. Participants will have a chance in pairs to practice these skills:
Speaking out and listening to others while keeping our hearts open.
Staying connected in the face of strong disagreement.
Letting our hearts break together — sharing our stories of hopelessness, trauma, discouragement — and then reaching to one another for hope and connection.
Learning how to stay allies with someone and reach for a change even after they have said hurtful things.
Cherie Brown is the Founder and CEO of the National Coalition Building Institute (NCBI) and the President of the Board of The Shalom Center. For the past 50 years, Cherie has led hundreds of workshops all over the world for Jews and for Jews and Allies on antisemitism, the intersection of antisemitism and racism, and healing from historic trauma.
Event Details
Date: Thursday, November 30
Time: 7:00pm - 9:30pm ET (4p-6:30p PT)
Place: Online via Zoom
Cost: Free (donations welcome)
Register at: bit.ly/ShiningBright5784
Recognizing the interactiveness of this workshop, and to support participants in sharing more openly, this program will not be recorded. It is free to register, with donations welcomed according to your capacity.
If you have any questions, feel free to reach out to us at:
event-help@theshalomcenter.org