Social Action

Several committee members worked on social justice legislation with The Religious Action Center of California and also met individually with elected officials, including state Sen. Mike Maguire, state Assemblymember Cecelia Aguiar-Curry and state Sen. Bill Dodd. We advocated for the AB 731 criminal justice reform bill, among other issues.

June

We presented the “Life After Incarceration in the Age of Covid” Zoom panel.

August

Several committee members met with Assemblyman Marc Levine and Sen. Bill Dodd advocating for the “Time Done” criminal justice bill.

We encouraged the congregation to contact our representatives in Washington to protect voting rights.

October

We organized congregants to march under the Shomrei Torah banner in the Women’s Reproductive Rights Rally Santa Rosa.

We held a Zoom “Conversation with Senator Mike McGuire.”

December

We helped with the Toy Drive of the North Bay Organizing Project and Christ United Methodist Church.

We organized our annual Winter Clothing Drive for Elisha’s Pantry

We presented “The Challenge of Mass Incarceration,” a Zoom forum with the Equal Justice Initiative.

Ongoing SAC Projects

Elisha’s Pantry

We partner with Christ United Methodist Church and Bethlehem Lutheran Church to distribute food to people in need. The pantry, which is at 1717 Yulupa Avenue, is open on Thursday afternoons. To sign up to work at the pantry, click here.

Redwood Empire Food Bank

We have special shifts of CST volunteers helping pack food and do other tasks at the Redwood Empire Food Bank. Sign up here.

Other Projects

The Social Action Committee has presented films, forums, and panel discussions highlighting current issues. Past programs have addressed criminal justice reform, homelessness, election concerns, gun violence, money bail, immigration issues, the climate crisis and much more. If there is an issue of specific importance to you, please let us know – and join us. For information email chair Judy Kay jlkay@sonic.net or members JulieAnn Steinberger julieannsteinberger@gmail.com, Doris Fried dfriedlcsw@gmail.com, or Stephen Harper kelev2@comcast.net.

Social Action Resources

The Religious Action Center for Reform Judaism, California is a valuable resource with up-to-date analyses of key social justice topics through a Jewish lens. The RAC also has action guides for urgent social issues specifically within our state. https://rac.org/take-action/rac-your-state/rac-ca.

Sun, January 16 2022
14 Sh'vat 5782

Upcoming Social Action Events

Click Here to volunteer for a CST shift at the Redwood Empire Food Bank.

Click Here to volunteer for a shift at Elisha’s Pantry food distribution site.

Check out a Social Action Committee meeting! For date, time, location or Zoom link, email chair Judy Kay or members JulieAnn Steinberger, Doris Fried, or Stephen Harper.

Calendared Events:

There are no upcoming events at this time.

A Message from your Social Action Chair

Welcome to 2022!

I have now been Chair of this committee for a year. And just as we thought the pandemic was on the way out, it has surprised us again. But we remain optimistic and will continue to do all that we can to make our community and our world a better place. We are excited about planning for this new year, and we will pivot as needed to continue serving the congregation and our community.

In 2021 we had programs involving asylum seekers, the climate crisis, criminal justice reform, and immigration. We initiated a program in conjunction with Passover to encourage donations to immigrant organizations. We had an informative and lively Earth Day presentation on the climate crisis, we met with state legislators and advocated for criminal justice reform and addressed criminal justice reform with three formerly incarcerated men. We hosted our state Senator Mike McGuire, who always keeps us informed, and we had a program with an attorney working with death row inmates in Alabama. We worked with NBOP and Christ United Methodist Church on their holiday toy drive and organized a warm clothing drive which provided much-needed outerwear to local people in need. And we continue to provide food to those who are food insecure every week at Elisha’s Pantry. As we head into 2022, we will focus on local and national issues, voting rights and more.

We meet monthly, currently by Zoom due to the Omicron upsurge. We would love to have you come to check out a meeting. To get the meeting time and link, or just for more information on the committee, email me Judy Kay or members JulieAnn Steinberger, Doris Fried, or Stephen Harper.

You can also email us to suggest social action issues the congregation might want to address. What matters to you?

As we move forward and can be together again, I look forward to meeting more of you and connecting with lively discussions as well as just having some laughs and some hugs.

Warmly,

Judy Kay, SAC Chair

Our Mission

The Congregation Shomrei Torah Social Action Committee was founded over 30 years ago with the intent to put the principles of social justice and tikkun olam into action by creating programs and events that support the mission of the congregation.

We are a committee of over 20 people who are dedicated to making our community a better place for all. We meet monthly.

New folks and ideas are always welcome, please join us!

For more information, contact Judy Kay, Chair, or members JulieAnn Steinberger, Doris Fried, or Stephen Harper.

Sun, January 16 2022 14 Sh'vat 5782

Social Action at Shomrei Torah

Watch or Re-watch SAC programs from 2021

A Conversation with Mike McGuire, originally aired October 2021.

Life After Incarceration in the Age of Covid, originally aired June 2021.

SAC Climate Change Panel, originally aired April 2021

Social Action Committee Accomplishments in 2021