Coral Gables Historical Archive
The Times
Saturday, January 22, 1977, page 17 (of 24)
The page
The text of this pageRead by computer from the scan, so some words may be wrong. The page picture is the original.
Unmarried Jews feel out of place in synagogue
By KAY SEVERINSEN Staff Writer Synagogues are isolating unmarried Jews, believes Brenda Shapiro, of the Miami branch of the American Jewish Committee. Only 30-40 per cent of Jews are affiliated with a synagogue or temple, and many of the remainder feel out of place in a religion that centers around the family unit, she says. Mrs. Shapiro will be speaking on this topic at a conference of the Synagogue Women of Dade County Feb. 16 at Temple Emanu-El. "A great deal of the ritual of the Sabbath is in the Jewish home. The mama lights the candles and the father breaks the chalah." A rabbi's sermons are frequently on family relationships, and the roles of father, mother and child, she adds. "That saying, 'You should only be married,' is not just a stereotype, it's a truism. Subliminally, Jews feel that spouses are necessary to legitimize their participation in the synagogue. "Widowed people probably have it the easiest, because they didn't choose their situation," she adds, "but for the divorced it is very hard, for they have chosen not to follow a strong cultural dictate. "In any Jewish synagogue you will find the brotherhood, the sisterhood, the youth group and the singles group. Most singles don't want or need this. They might join the singles group just to avoid the pressures of families who think they should get married. But unofficially, that's what the group is for, to find a spouse—like God willing, he'll find a nice Jewish girl." Shapiro says that the Jewish synagogue culture is so dependent of the family unit that married women see single women as a threat. "They really want to hang onto their husbands; which, for those reasons, is sad," she says. "Now as traditional family units are breaking down in America, we will see increasing numbers of unaffiliated Jews," Mrs. Shapiro emphasizes, until the Jewish community redefines, restructures and reorganizes itself. "We are a shrinking population, we're marrying later an having fewer children. I question whether we can survive unless we change our attitudes." Mrs. Shapiro would like to see synagogues start doing more things as a whole group or dividing into music clubs, or sports groups or other interest groups. "We've got to quit fragmenting by sex, age and marital status. It's time the synagogues lived up to their promise to transmit the culture history and values to all Jews," she says.
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5 different backgrounds in forum
What it's like to be an American girl will be discussed by a panel of teenagers with five different backgrounds; Catholic, Jewish, Black, White Protestant, and Spanish-speaking, at a forum of the Unitarian Universalist Society, 7701 SW 76th Ave. The forum will be presented Sunday, Jan. 23 at 9:45 a.m. Training sessions There will be a training session for all visitors at the Kendall United Methodist Church, 133 Ponce de Leon Blvd., at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 27. The session will be directed by the leaders of the annual conference who have had special training and experience in this field.
Who He?
"God? Who He?" will be the topic of a sermon by the Rev. Richard J. Bailar Sunday, Jan. 23 at 10 a.m. at the Coral Gables Congregational Church, 3010 De Soto Blvd.
Church Directory Attend The Church Of Your Choice
THE LE JEUNE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH Le Jeune Rd., at S.W. 4 St. 448-7481 Dr. Robert C. Duhs, Pastor Sunday Services 11:00 A.M. & 7:30 P.M. | SUNSET CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH UNITED CHURCH OF CHRIST 9025 SUNSET DRIVE WORSHIP SERVICE CHURCH SCHOOL 9:30 Α.Μ. | OLYMPIA HEIGHTS UNITED METHODIST CHURCH 3801 S.W. 97 Ave. Pastor Ross M. Geiger Church School-9:00 Α.Μ. Worship Service- 10:00 Α.Μ. & 7:30 Ρ.Μ. | UNIVERSITY BAPTIST CHURCH Riviere Drive at Segovia Coral Gables, Florida 8:30 Α.Μ., 11:00 Α.Μ. & 7:00 Ρ.Μ. PASTOR - DAN YEARY | INDEPENDENT BAPTIST CHURCH WESTWOOD LAKE 4301 S.W. 107 Ave. SUNDAY SCHOOL 9:45 A.M. WORSHIP SERVICE 10:55 Α.Μ. TRAINING UNION 6:30 Ρ.Μ. WED. MID WEEK PRAYER SERVICE 7:30 Ρ.Μ. MARVIN GOCHENOUR, PASTOR | FLAGAMI BAPTIST CHURCH 860 S.W. 76 Court Phone: 261-1464 Dr. Charles Horton, Pastor WORSHIP SERVICES 9:30 a.m., 10:45 a.m., 7:00 p.m. | GOOD THINGS HAPPEN AT IMMANUEL LUTHERAN 1770 Brickell Ave. Paul Anderson, pastor Worship Services 11 A.M. VISITORS AND NEWCOMERS ALWAYS WELCOME | FIRST UNITED PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH 121 Alhambra Plaza Rev. Carroll L. Shuster, Pastor Church School — 9:30 Α.Μ. Morning Worship — 10:30 Α.Μ.
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