News and Updates unBIASed

Dear Friends,

Every morning, as I enjoy my first cup of coffee, I look at a small painting on my wall that says “Choose to be grateful.” This early morning “coffee time“ is a small, quiet gift to myself—my “me time,” and the time I spend practicing a little mindfulness and thinking my thoughts. Being grateful is indeed a choice, especially in these difficult times where daily crises seem to take hold of our attention and our hearts.

But November is here. Isn’t it something that we have a national holiday, Thanksgiving, reminding us all to gather with family and friends and focus on that for which we are grateful? If asked (and this happens often around Thanksgiving tables), “For what are you thankful?” we would likely think of various unique and personal gifts. But for many of us, I suspect we would acknowledge our gratitude for our friends and family, our health, and this loving and supportive Temple Beth Am clergy and community. I am reminded of the words we say and sing in the prayer and song Modim Anachnu Lach, where we thank God for the daily miracles and blessings we may take for granted.

On that note, let’s come together and remind ourselves how fortunate we are to live in such an interesting, diverse, and supportive community. On November 16, unBIASed invites you to join us for our third annual Breaking Bread Breaking Bias interfaith gathering and community potluck lunch. Once again, we join with community partners, Mosaic Miami, Unity on the Bay, AJC, Unitarian Universalist Miami, and JCRC, to share stories, food, and conversation, and to get to know one another better.

This month, I have asked Mason Lang, our unBIASed teen student ambassador and committee member, to share some thoughts about why he has chosen to become involved in unBIASed. This busy 16-year-old junior, a musical theatre student at New World School of the Arts, has some very thoughtful, moving, and clear thoughts about this decision. You’ve likely heard Mason sing from our bimah since he was a very young boy, but did you know that he is also an actor and dancer, along with being a talented singer? We are so happy to have Mason as part of our committee. With wisdom and understanding, he brings a young person’s perspective to our important unBIASed work. We are looking forward to other young people joining us as well.

Happy Thanksgiving!
L’Shalom,

Joanne Harvest Koren
Chair, unBIASed