rabbis are often moving with
f heir congregations and
building again in the outer
'suburbs.
Rabbi Nelson asks joking-
"Where are we going to
keep moving to, East Lans-
ing?" Then there are those
who are rebuilding from the
- inside out, and that's where
Rabbi Nelson's role has
been.
"Listen, things have
changed for the better," he
said. "Where before we had
fears that Jews would be
leaving this area and mov-
ing out, now Jews are retur-
ning. Who would have
believed years ago the JPM
(Jimmy Prentis Morris) JCC
-would still be open, not to
mention going through ex-
c)ansion?"
Rabbi Nelson said it is his
goal to teach and to reach
( people, not just from the
bimah but also by being ac-
tive in his community.
"I'm proud that I'm able to
.
)e in a congregation that
allows me to grow and to
Jead in certain areas of the
' community," he said. "My
cOngregation allows me to
lead."
He said without hesitation
that one of his greatest areas
of pride in his career has
,)Pen the advancement of
women within the Conser-
-- vative Movement. There are
women rabbis and Jewish
ucators who are products
of Beth Shalom.
.
-
-
Another area of pride is
the trust his congregation
has in him as their spiritual
leader.
"It's not a matter of being
as good as your last ser-
mon," Rabbi Nelson said.
"For me it's a matter of trust
between me and my con-
gregation. I want my con-
gregants to understand that
when they come to shul,
they're going to get some-
thing out of the service. It's
not a question of making an
appearance and going
through the service by rote."
The rabbi calls Beth
Shalom a Jewish stronghold
in Oak Park. He sees the
shul as part of the spirit of
renewal in the area, a Jew-
ish renewal that, though,
largely observant, isn't ex-
clusively Orthodox. He
pointed to the Purim parade
in Oak Park earlier in the
year as an example of across-
the-board participation bet-
ween denominations.
"I see more people coming
to our shul who want to
learn to put on tefillin or
want to learn how to keep
kosher," he said. "They
know that they can learn
that here at Beth Shalom.
I'm proud of that. But most
important, this shul is made
up of people, good people.
And it's really the quality of
the people here that makes
the shul grow. The next 20
years, I want the growth to
continue." 0
Preachers And Joseph
Spark Israel Dedication
zELIZABETH APPLEBAUM
-
Assistant Editor
A
s a boy growing up in
Guthrie, Okla.,
Thurman Mitchell
spent hours listening to fun-
damentalist preachers on
I the radio. They taught him
to love Israel.
"Over and over I heard
them refer to the passage,
`Blessed be every one that
I biesseth thee (Israel),' " a
Hbiblical
directive to the
1
nations of the world. "I
,-- -never forgot that."
Years later Mr. Mitchell, a
reporter for KCTV in Kan-
Correction
In the Aug. 28 edition of
The Jewish News, photog-
I rapher Marsha Sund-
`' quist's credit line was in-
advertently left off the
photo spread on the new
Shaarey Zedek Parenting
Center.
sas City, Mo., is a champion
of Israel and a member of
Voices United, a Kansas-
based group that
disseminates information
about and promotes support
for Israel. He was in Flint
last week to meet with
residents interested in star-
ting a Voices chapter.
Voices has sponsored
rallies on behalf of Israel,
produced a video —made by
Mr. Mitchell — featuring
interviews with Ethiopian
and Soviet immigrants, and
hosted interfaith tours to
Israel. It sponsors two pro-
grams on National Jewish
Television and has offices in
Kansas, Missouri and Ohio.
A devout, born-again
Christian, Mr. Mitchell ex-
plains his interest in Voices
this way: "I wanted a vehicle
for expressing my convic-
tions."
His interest in Israel
began back in Guthrie with
the radio preachers, men
whose names Mr. Mitchell
can still recite without
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15