Reconstructionist congregation hosts Iowa rabbi as guest speaker
Spiritual reflection will be on the menu when the “God Cafe” pops up in Milwaukee.
Rabbi Sarah Brammer-Shlay, founder of the God Cafe, will be the guest speaker for Congregation Shir Hadash’s annual Sid Fine Memorial Lecture on June 12 and 13.
The God Cafe is a workshop developed by Brammer-Shlay to provide an inclusive space for thoughtful conversation about the nature of the divine. At each session, she invites people of all backgrounds to share their personal experiences and struggles to connect with God.
Brammer-Shlay will explain the God Cafe at a Friday night service at 7 p.m. June 12 in Shir Hadash’s space at Plymouth Church, 2717 E. Hampshire Ave., Milwaukee.
On Saturday, June 13, in the same location, Shir Hadash Rabbi Armin Langer will lead Torah study at 10 a.m., and then Brammer-Shay will conduct a God Cafe workshop from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. A light lunch will follow.
The weekend program is free of charge.
Brammer-Shlay is the dean of religious life and chaplain at Grinnell College in Iowa, where she also serves as director of the liberal arts college’s Center for Religion, Spirituality, and Social Justice. She first developed the God Cafe concept in 2017, while she was a student at the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College.
The Sid Fine Memorial Lecture series honors Fine, of blessed memory, and is made possible by a generous bequest from his estate. Fine was a prominent psychologist and longtime Shir Hadash member who enjoyed the congregation’s participatory services and study sessions and who strongly supported its work in social justice.
Congregation Shir Hadash (shirmke.org) is Milwaukee’s only Reconstructionist synagogue. It is an inclusive, progressive, and participatory spiritual community that blends Jewish tradition with contemporary values.
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