A brief patch of rain didn’t stand a chance of dampening spirits Friday as several hundred people, including local politicians,...
Atlanta's LGBT-founded synagogue Congregation Bet Haverim hosts two events during Atlanta's “Stonewall Month” celebrations. The first, a pet blessing and picnic at Mason Mill Park, will be held June 23.
The pet blessing will be a unique event, said Bet Haverim Rabbi Rabbi Joshua Lesser, who is gay.
LGBT people, especially those without children, often form a unique bond with their pets, Lesser added.
In addition to more typical house pets, Lesser said any and all animals are welcome to the event.
Rabbi Joshua Lesser from Atlanta’s Congregation Bet Haverim was named by The Jewish Daily Forward as one of America's “most inspiring” rabbis alongside 35 other Jewish spiritual leaders this week.
Lesser is openly gay. Congregation Bet Haverim was founded by lesbians and gays and is now home to a diverse Reconstructionist community.
Amy Robertson, a member of Congregation Bet Haverim, doted on the rabbi in her nomination:
Rabbi Joshua Lesser of Atlanta's Congregation Bet Haverim was a guest on CNN to talk about ways to include faith-based resolutions as we ring in 2013 tonight.
Lesser, who is openly gay (and a proud gym enthusiast), praises working on physical fitness as a resolution. But faith is also something we can work on, he said.
"Our bodies and minds and our spirits are all connected and we need to attend to them and the New Year is a great time to check in," he said.
The annual “Festival of Lights” Hanukkah celebration, held at the LGBT-inclusive Congregation Bet Haverim on Dec. 14, promises activities to appeal to all ages under the overall theme of diversity.
Hanukkah is an event that can often seem to appeal more to children than adults, according to CBH Executive Director Amy Robertson. She and the staff are looking to change that.
“In our early years, we didn’t have a lot of children here, but over time we have had more and more families,” says Robertson. “We want to make the evening one where everyone can have a great time.”
Openly gay Rabbi Joshua Lesser from Congregation Bet Haverim delivered the invocation at Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed's State of the City speech this morning at the Georgia World Congress Center.
Gay politicos praised Lesser this morning after he delivered the invocation.
Joan Garner, a lesbian member of the Fulton County Commission, posted “Rabbi, what inspiring words this morning at the State of the City Breakfast. Thank you!” to Lesser's Facebook page earlier this morning.
Openly gay Atlanta City Councilmember Alex Wan sent out a Tweet during Lesser's invocation with a photo of the rabbi addressing the crowd. “Go Josh!” the Tweet read.
Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed announced this afternoon that he was reneging on his promise to allow Occupy Wall Street protesters freedom to remain in Atlanta's Woodruff Park until early November.
During a press conference at City Hall, Reed said that events over the weekend led to his decision to revoke his previous executive order. A two-day hip-hop concert, called Atlanta Hip-Hop Day Free Concert Festival, was scheduled to be held in Woodruff Park on Oct. 23-24, but organizers failed to provide the city with an adequate security plan, according to the mayor. The use of a power generator without a permit was also a cause to shut down the event, Reed added.
Around a half-dozen Occupy Atlanta protesters were present during the often-heated press conference. OWS Atlanta members shouted several times that Reed was lying or fabricating his reasons for the eviction.