WELCOME

Dear Friends,

It’s fall, and we’re excited to share our new program guide with a growing variety of offerings and some wonderful new opportunities.

We continue to focus on the implementation of our new strategic plan with a growing emphasis on programs for youth and young families. (You can find our strategic plan online at oregonjcc.org/strategicplan.) Our Youth Programs Department is now offering pickleball, volleyball, and flag football, through Skyhawks Sports Academy, all of which are new programs for the MJCC. See page 10 - 11.

On October 25, we are thrilled to present theatre dybbuk’s workshop, One Community, Many Stories. theatre dybbuk, a Los Angeles-based performing arts company, explores Jewish thought through provocative performances and innovative educational encounters. This remarkable workshop, for participants ages 11 and up, creates a communal experience through creative writing, personal storytelling, and performance. See page seven.

Thanks to a grant from the Women’s Giving Circle of the Jewish Federation of Greater Portland, we are pleased to provide self-defense workshops and classes for girls, women, and women-identifying There will be two workshops, one for youth and one for adults. We will follow-up these workshops with a class that will take place over three evenings. See page six for details.

On the heels of this summer’s sold-out Drag Queen Bingo event, we’re delighted to bring back Poison Waters, along with some of her friends, for a fun-filled, familyfriendly bingo event in November. See page seven. We’ve also partnered with Keshet, a national organization that works for the full equality of LGBTQ+ Jews in Jewish life, to offer a training program for our community, via Zoom, on October 11. This community training will allow participants to:

• Identify and understand the core terms and concepts related to LGBTQ+ identities;

• Make connections between LGBTQ+ equality and Jewish values;

• Understand the importance of building explicitly LGBTQ+ affirming communities;

• Identify ways that all community members can be part of building LGBTQ+ affirming culture. See page seven.

As the weather turns cooler and wetter, we want to be sure you have options to stay fit! Elliott Saunders will be offering a beginning pickleball clinic in October for those interested in learning the basics of America’s fastest-growing sport. See page 13. And to motivate you to expand your workout routine, we are launching our Fall into Fitness promotion for members. Participants are eligible to win MJCC swag and a grand prize of a one-hour massage! See page 16.

I hope you’ll check out the events noted above along with other programs described throughout this guide. See you at the J!

facebook.com/MJCCPDX

Steve Albert Executive Director