• 22Sep

    Leading Services

    Mediation, Presentation Skills

    Now that I am immersed in mediating disputes, those same skills are being called upon in another area of my life, as the co-creator of the Rosh HaShana and Yom Kippur services for the West Broward Jewish Center with Rabbi Bernie Presler.  The ability to peruse vast amounts of material, synthesize the essential lessons, mix in a little of this and that, and present it in an appetizing way, is really quite similar. I love doing it. This year, the services came alive as I had 19 children parade up to the microphone and utter their lines - straight out of the Dalai Lama’s Instructions for Life! At a minimum, each child will certainly remember the lesson on the one they read.

     My role in this service has evolved from merely reading the English portions and inspirational stories to picking what parts of what stories (those writers can be long-winded) and tying several of them together in one lesson. Usually I follow an inspirational theme with some ways of taking action to achieve that goal, to move in that direction. When I recently updated parts of this web site, I saw that I use the words, “move forward” and “move on” a lot. It has become part of my mantra, because I believe that we only have a finite amount of time on the Earth, and we don’t even know how long that will be, so use it UP! To spend time in a dispute or in anger is a waste.  

    Saturday’s theme, on the first day of Rosh HaShana was forgiveness, as in seeking to mend old disputes and in forgiving yourself. I included a riveting tale about a sister who reconciled with her brother, including their children, cousins who had never met before, on the Sunday before Sept. 11, 2001. He worked for Cantor Fitzgerald, and didn’t survive. She would say, don’t make excuses, do it NOW!

    The second day was about creating change in your life, with seven daily activities, including “have fun”, as a recipe for living life fully. We were over 200 people on Saturday, and by now many families keep coming back year after year, making us a congregation. I look forward to seeing how this service continues to evolve, as we do.

    When it was all over and I got home, the rest of the family had scattered. So who did I do the rehash with? My across the street, very religious Christian great neighbor, who thoroughly understood my elated feeling of accomplishment in helping others to feel spiritually and religiously connected. I find that people are far more similar than different, for the act of having faith leads to greater understanding and recognition by people of different faiths.

    Posted by Anne Bloom @ 4:36 pm

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