By Nancy B. Greer
President & CEO
Every June, we celebrate Pride Month, and this year we are marking the 50th anniversary of the tradition that honors the LGBTQ+ community and amplifies the tradition’s powerful message of equality and inclusivity — a message that is more urgent today than ever before.
On Friday, June 19, your Jewish Federation of Greater Seattle will hold our annual Pride Shabbat, a virtual gathering — “Sharing the Light: Stories and Melodies to Nourish the Spirit” — that promises to be an uplifting and joyful service. I invite you to join the LGBTQ+ community members and allies from across Jewish Puget Sound for a beautiful service with reflection, celebration, music, and stories to unite and inspire.
We will be coming together at an unsettling time. The events of the past few months have occupied deep mental and emotional space, but they have also brought home the urgent necessity of finding connection, nurturing relationships, and affirming the value of B’Tselem Elohim, through which we are called to cherish and protect the life and dignity of every person. That is the spirit of Pride Shabbat, year after year.
I want to thank our generous supporters who make Pride Shabbat possible every year and share my gratitude for how it is such a unifying event for Jewish Puget Sound. This year’s gathering is generously co-sponsored by 28 partner organizations representing a remarkable cross-section of our community. Such broad support is a heartening sign that Pride Shabbat is a deeply meaningful event that shows the power of community to draw us together and reinvigorates all who attend with joy, hope, and purpose.
Please join us at Pride Shabbat on Friday, June 19, beginning at 6 pm. We’ll be so happy to see you there!
