Tuesday, March 11, 2008

Grandparenting programs

Dear Friends,

You all may recall that I sent you the article about JOI's having issued an outline for working with Parents/Grandparents of interfaith couples/families. Unfortunately they were unaware of the existing programs around the country. I hope that we can all become better at sharing information and not constantly reinventing the wheels. JOI was unaware of a terrific book, written some years ago and currently for sale from URJ Books & Music, titled Mingled Roots by Sunie Levin and Dahlia Schronberg. The price is $14.95. If any of you don't already have a copy, it's worth the 15 bucks.

http://press.securesites.net/cgi-bin/hazel.cgi?action=DETAIL&ITEM=101088



Someone I got in touch with through Egon Mayer--> Eve Coulson --> Lynne Wolfe is Jeanette Bergelson. I asked Jeanette to send me a paragraph about herself and her groups. Jeanette is from the Conservative movement and runs a group called New Beginnings for parents and grandparents. Those of you from the Reform movement will note the "same title, different program" twist.


I am coordinator of “New Beginnings”, a Jewish support group for parents and grandparents of children in interfaith marriages.

For the past 16 years we have provided a supportive, non-judgmental, non-threatening arena where all can openly discuss their concerns regarding the interfaith marriage of their children.. We present non-confrontational techniques to address issues that arise in the interfaith family. Emphasis is on positive approaches to impart Jewish heritage. As part of our programming, we’ve had speakers on interfaith issues such as life cycle events, divorce, adoption, holidays, etc. as well as problem-solving workshops.

Together with other Outreach professionals, we work to create effective programs to educate our communities.

Jeanette Bergelson



Should you want to communicate with Jeanette about her years of programming experience email me and I'll put you in touch with her.