Since 2002, Temple Emanuel’s Kulanu committee has supported LGBTQIA+ inclusion and programming at Temple Emanuel and the wider community, with initiatives including sponsorship of numerous Shabbat celebrations and consistent participation in local Pride events.
This work was recognized by the URJ in 2013, with the award of the Fain Social Action Award at the Consultation on Conscience.
Interested in volunteering or have questions? Contact Executive Director, Dianne Neiman via email or at 301.942.2000.
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Photos, L-R: Civil Marriage sign outside Temple Emanuel in 2007 with Clergy, Staff, and Volunteer; Volunteers at 2015 Pride Event; Marriage Equality sign outside Temple Emanuel in 2021; Volunteers at 2016 Pride Event.
Kulanu/Pride Services at Temple Emanuel
2000 – 2024
June 14, 2024: Pride Shabbat
Guest Speaker Delegate Anne Kaiser, 16 Years of Success on LGBTQ+ Rights in Annapolis – What We Have Accomplished, and the Challenges Ahead
June 9, 2023: Pride Shabbat
Guest Speaker Reverend Joey Heath-Mason, Associate Pastor at St. Paul’s United Methodist Church in Kensington
June 10, 2022: Kulanu Shabbat
Guest Speaker Marc Tannen, creator of documentary-in-progress Broken Chains about the lives of Orthodox Jews
June 11, 2021: Kulanu Shabbat
Guest Speaker Evan Glass, Member-at-Large, Montgomery County Council: My Journey, Our Journeys, and Using the Political Process to Achieve Progress
June 12, 2020: Kulanu Shabbat
Guest Speaker Nicolle Campa, President, Metro DC Chapter of PFLAG: The Importance of Family in the Struggle for Equal Rights and Community Embrace
Presentations by Youth Advisor Devorah Stavisky and Students Eli Herman, Quinn Spence, Kayden Reff, and Autumn Cook.
Link to Program Booklet for June 2020 Event
June 7, 2019: Kulanu Shabbat
Guest Speaker Ellen Kahn, Director of the Human Rights Campaign’s Children, Youth, and Families Program: Where are we now, where are we going?
Sept. 16, 2016: Kulanu Shabbat with Temple Community Social Action Commission
Guest Speaker Rob Scheer, founder of Comfort Cases: Comfort Cases for Children in Foster Care
April 15, 2016: Kulanu Shabbat
Guest Speaker Mike Fishback, Intent and Impact
March 27, 2015: Kulanu Shabbat
Building Community by Sharing Our Stories: David Fishback, Sara Cytron, Glenn Northern, Nat Rasmussen, Marti Teitlebaum & Tim Zwerdling
Oct. 4, 2013: Kulanu Shabbat
Guest Speaker Dr. Dana Beyer, Executive Director, Gender Rights Maryland, Jewish Values and Transgender Equality
Jan. 2013: Kulanu co-sponsored MLK Service
Guest Speaker Jonathan Jayes-Green, speaking about the Maryland Dream Act and the Maryland Civil Marriage Equality Act
Oct. 26, 2012: Kulanu Shabbat
Guest speaker State Senator Richard Madaleno: Jewish Values and Civil Marriage Equality
Feb. 10, 2012: Kulanu Shabbat
Celebrating Our Temple’s Rich Diversity: Sara Cytron, Lisa Feldman, Glenn Northern, and Tim Zwerdling
April 1, 2011: Kulanu Shabbat
Guest Speaker Captain Michael Rankin (USN, Ret.), Retired Navy psychiatrist and openly gay advocate for the repeal of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, and Board Member, Union for Reform Judaism.
June 11, 2010: Kulanu Shabbat
Guest Speaker Delegate Heather Mizeur
June 12, 2009: Kulanu Shabbat
Guest Speaker Rabbi Sarah Meytin, Jewish Community Relations Council, Issues of Human Rights
Feb. 8, 2008: Kulanu Shabbat
Guest Speaker Delegate Anne Kaiser: Civil Marriage Is A Civil Right: A Gay Jewish View in Annapolis
Jan. 2007: Kulanu Co-Sponsored MLK Service
Guest Speaker Patricia Corbett, Community Outreach Director, Metro DC PFLAG
Sept. 15, 2006: Kulanu Shabbat
Guest Speaker Dan Furmansky, Executive Director of Equality Maryland, Equal Rights for Gays and Lesbians: A Jewish Perspective
May 22, 2005: Temple Emanuel Celebrates Lag B’Omer
A Celebration of Life and Jewish Survival GLBT in the Family: Response & Embrace
Feb. 27, 2004: Kulanu Shabbat
Guest Speaker Rabbi Leila Gal Berner: Values, Tradition and Challenges: A Jewish Approach to Sexual Ethics
Presentations from members Ellen Mann (Karch), Bobbi Fishback, and Mike Fishback
Nov. 16, 2001: Shabbat Service
Guest Speakers Ken Carroll and Stephanie Handel of Bet Mishpachah: A Vital Part of Our Jewish Community: Embracing a Diversity of Sexual and Gender Identities
Oct. 18, 2001 Temple Social Issues Committee co-sponsored with Bet Mishpacha Social Action Committee and Jews United for Justice
Guest Speaker Lee Walzer, Homophobia and Anti-Semitism
May 19, 2000: Shabbat Service
Gay and Jewish: Issues and Reflections
Rabbi Warren Stone and Guest Speakers Catherine Tuerk, Past President of PFLAG and PFLAG Member Hannah Lipman
