While Philadelphia has rescheduled Pride Festival for September, there are still plenty of virtual opportunities to celebrate the LGBTQIA+ (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer/Questioning, Intersex, Asexual/Ally) community.
“Philadelphia may be moving Pride to September but the Jewish community is not!” said Galia Godel, Program Manager of LGBTQ Initiative at Jewish Family and Children’s Service of Greater Philadelphia (JFCS) and head of J.PROUD Consortium, the Philadelphia consortium of Jewish organizations committed to LGBTQIA+ inclusion.
One in 10 Jewish households includes someone who identifies as LGBTQIA+. Here at the Jewish Federation, we're deeply committed to supporting these community members in both Jewish and non-Jewish spaces. We're proud members of J.Proud and strive to fund organizations that have focused programming on diversity, inclusion, equality and equity.
Check out these incredible opportunities to celebrate Pride!
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J.Proud Pride Shabbat
Friday, June 25, 2021 | 6:30 p.m.
Free
J.Proud, the Philadelphia Consortium of Jewish organizations committed to LGBTQIA+ inclusion, is hosting a pride shabbat! Leaders and community members from J.Proud organizations will lead us in prayer, in song, and in conversation. Join us to celebrate the beautiful combination of your Jewish and your LGBTQIA+ identity in a community-building shabbat service. To register, click here.
“Little Girl” - Pride Month Virtual Film Screening
Thursday, June 17 - Sunday, June 20, 2021 | 7:00 p.m.
$12 General Admission
In honor of Pride Month, Gershman Philadelphia Jewish Film Festival will present the latest film from acclaimed Jewish filmmaker Sébastien Lifshitz. Official Selection of the Berlin International Film Festival, “Little Girl” is a moving portrait of 7-year-old Sasha, who has always known that she is a girl, and her family, who have recently accepted and embraced their daughter for who she truly is. Documented with delicacy and intimacy, this moving documentary is a compassionate look at the emotional challenges, everyday feats, and small moments in Sasha’s daily life in a community that is not as quick to adapt.
“Little Girl” will stream beginning Thursday, June 17, 7:00 p.m. EDT and be available for a 72-hour timeframe. To register, click here.
‘Jew-ish’: Cooking with Jake Cohen
Wednesday, June 23, 2021 | 1:00 p.m.
Free with a suggested $10 donation
Celebrate PRIDE Month with National Museum of American Jewish History (NMAJH) and New York Times best selling author, Jake Cohen. In this program, Jake will cook a selected recipe (to be announced) from Jew-ish, his newly released and highly acclaimed cookbook. He will offer personal insights into the recipes, and the relationships and stories behind them. In Jew-ish, Cohen reinvents the food of his Ashkenazi heritage and draws inspiration from his husband Alex’s Persian-Iraqi traditions to offer recipes that are modern, fresh, and enticing for a whole new generation of readers.
For more information and to register, click here. Purchase an autographed copy of the book here.
Creating Radically Welcoming Communities
Wednesday, June 30, 2021 | 7:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m.
Free
What do our Jewish texts and values say about welcoming others into our communities? Hear from Rabbi Sandra Lawson of Reconstructing Judaism talk about creating inclusivity in Jewish spaces as part of Center City Kehillah’s race workshop series, which is supported by the Jewish Federation. In her role at Reconstructing Judaism, Lawson is developing a series of anti-racist policies and trainings for the organization and its affiliate members. After graduating Reconstructionist Rabbinical College in 2018, Rabbi Lawson became one of the first African American, queer woman rabbi. To register, click here.