RECENT Events

BE PROUD TO PARTICIPATE IN AND SUPPORT THE LGBTQIA+ TASK FORCE

June is Pride Month. It’s a great time to get out and share our support for our diverse and inclusive community. Please join us at these weekend-long, upcoming, and free events. We really are stronger together!

Be our guest at LGBTQIA+ Jewish Adult Meet & Greet on Friday, June 9th at 6pm. Prior to our Pride Shabbat service, all LGBTQIA+ identifying adults are invited to Or Shalom for a special pre-Shabbat Meet & Greet hosted by Jen and Emily Daniels-Lake and sponsored by One Table. Come meet other queer Jews in Lake County and get in the Shabbat spirit with Or Shalom. Adult beverages and appetizers will be provided. RSVPs will be accepted here through the One Table website. Please spread this far and wide and invite your friends!

Attend the Pride Shabbat service on Friday, June 9th at 7pm. We’ll have a unique evening with music, a slide show, some relevant teachings, and treats, of course! 

Visit our Booth at the Lake County Pride Fest on Saturday, June 10th. Please join us and share your support for the LGBTQIA+ community at the Round Lake Beach Cultural and Civic Center, 2007 N Civic Center Way. The fest runs from noon to 11pm. We will be at our booth from noon until 5pm. There will also be music and performances, food trucks, a beer and beverage tent, craft and artisan vendors, a resource fair, games and entertainment for children, multiple drag shows, an after-party, and more! Registration is below.

March with us in the Buffalo Grove Pride Parade on Sunday, June 4th at 11am. As of now, the lineup for vehicles and floats will be around 9:30am. All additional walkers and group members should be in place by 10:30am. Final details including where to park and how to join the lines at staging will be sent out the week prior to the parade.  RSVP here to march with us!

For more information on any of these events, please contact Nina Hoffman.

LGBTQIA+ Task Force

The LGBTQIA+ Task Force was established in 2021, and our purpose is to build on Or Shalom’s mission to meet the diverse needs of our congregants within a caring, inclusive, and supporting environment. Guided by Reform Judaic practices and principles, we aim to fully embrace, equally value, and support all members of the LGBTQIA+ community. We will do so through education and programming initiatives designed to build a sense of acceptance, belonging, and inclusion, in a safe and caring environment.

We meet on the third Tuesday of each month, and work together to attend and create events to ensure all members of the community feel a strong sense of belonging.  Some of the things we have done to date include:

• Hosted Or Shalom’s first Safe Zone training, through LGBTQ+ Center Lake County. Among other things, this training taught us how the words and pronouns we use can make Or Shalom a safe place for others. Watch for Safe Zone window clings to appear at Or Shalom soon!

• Represented Or Shalom at the second annual Lake County PrideFest. It was great to be really seen in our community – we were the only Lake County synagogue there, and we had lots of interest!

• Showed our support of the LGBTQIA+ community and marched in the Buffalo Grove Pride Parade. Perfect weather, wonderful togetherness and joy.

• Presented various offerings at Or Shalom’s Pride Shabbat this past June.

Future plans include:

• Hosting Mosaic Players' October 15th Performance of  5 Lesbians Eating Quiche, in partnership with Buffalo Grove  Pride and Keshet.

• Sharing at LGBTQIA+ History Month Shabbat on Friday, October 27th. Come learn with us!

• Publishing a book! We need YOUR contributions, be they poetry or essay, short story or limerick, photography or other artwork. Send your questions or contributions to Nina Hoffman or Bill McNulty at OrShalomLGBTQIA [at] gmail [dot] com. 

• Offering a second Safe Zone training experience.

YOUR ideas! We would love to know what programming you, the Or Shalom community, is interested in. Email us at OrShalomLGBTQIA [at] gmail [dot] com to learn more or join the Task Force.