SOUTH ORANGE, NJ — Oheb Shalom Congregation will host a celebratory LGBTQ Pride Shabbat on Friday, June 3, with a community Shabbat dinner at 6:30 p.m. LGBTQ stands for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer. At 7:30 p.m., a special musical Shabbat service will feature “Sharing Our Trans & Gay Stories,” in which several members of Oheb Shalom will speak about their LGBTQ life experiences. Speakers include Cecilia Cranko, a transgender woman, parent to two boys, and an architect of more than 15 years, who will share her journey and insights — highs and lows — of her transition of the past year from male to female; Jordan Aronson, a gay man, who has been a part of the Oheb Shalom community since birth, who says, “Oheb has been my home for 27 years. I can express my whole self: both my gay and my Jewish identities. This is what Oheb Shalom has always been to me”; and Alyson Slutzky, a straight woman, and parent of two adult transgender children, who will share her thoughts and feelings experienced during this journey.
The 7:30 p.m. service and reception is free and open to the community, but the dinner, sponsored by the Slutzky Parenting Center of Oheb Shalom Congregation, is charged and requires advance reservations at www.ohebshalom.org. Further dialog with the speakers will follow the service, at a festive reception. Members of all faiths are welcome.
Oheb Shalom Congregation is located at 170 Scotland Road in South Orange.
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