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105 Hudson Road
Sudbury  MA  01776
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www.bethelsudbury.org

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M, W, TH:  9 - 5
T, F:  9 -- 3 

44days until
Congregational mini-Shabbaton 5770 - Saturday morning, January 9, 2010

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Resources

The Way of Man by Martin Buber

Ayekah? Where are You on Your Spiritual Journey?

The Ayekah initiative began on Rosh Hashanah 5768 (9/2006) when Rabbi David Thomas posed the question, “Ayekah, Where are You on Your Spiritual Journey?”


This question can be asked of us individually and collectively as a Congregation.
 

Beth El is in its fourth year as a recipient of a grant from the Legacy Heritage Innovation Project of Legacy Heritage Programming, an affiliate of the Legacy Heritage Fund.  This grant is helping us make a systemic change to broaden our sense of community and revitalize our congregational life. The grant has afforded us a stellar community organizer, Meir Lakein, who has trained us in the art of sharing personal narratives in “one-on-ones”  (two people talking).  It has enabled us to get to know each other better and to explore where we are individually, thus fostering greater connections between members of our community. We have listened to each other’s journeys, building trust among one another and widening the social web that makes Beth El a vibrant and changing community.


The initial goal was to enable members to feel a greater kinship, a deeper connection, with their fellow congregants, and to have a working relationship with folks that you often only nod to. Many who have participated feel as if it has given them permission to cross the boundaries that separate us – for example, to sit down over a cup of coffee or tea, share with one another and to be heard, which is a gift in our fast paced lives. Now when we get together, the depth of feeling for the other person has been enhanced, and we grow as a congregation in our ability to “be there for other members.”

 

The second goal of Ayekah is gleaned from hearing the stories of other people. These storied typically include the hopes and aspirations as how each congregant will find a place of prayer, study, social justice, or an opportunity to perform Tikkun Olam / Repair the World.  Another hope is finding or even creating a community of likeminded souls in which to raise their families, share holidays, laughter, life cycle events and support when needed.  Some reflections of those who have participated in the sharing of stories are available in the Ayekah Reflections.  

 

Last year (5769-2008/2009) we embarked onto the phase of Ayekah where we brought it into members’ homes.  We began cross-generational exchanges that will lead to a broader appreciation and understanding of who we are and how we need to move into the next phase of our life as a congregation. And as the Metrowest Free Medical Program grew out of a previous Ayekah-like initiative, we are anticipating a broad range of activities to bubble up through this process. We anticipate lots of individuals will continue to connect on shared interests, whether they address social justice, prayer or a way to create more joyful activities for congregants to participate in.  In addition, a goal for the 5770 (2009-2010) year, will be to propose or participate in a new in-house or community project that expresses our communal values.
 
If you are interested in learning more about Ayekah and participating in this community-building process, please contact Velda Adams, Ayekah Coordinator.

If you have an Ayekah experience you would like to share, please send along an email, and your thoughts will be added in a comment section at the end of this page or added to the Ayekah Reflections.