Zen Peacemaker Affiliate
yerusha
Yerusha
To nurture new definitions of community and the changing roles within, by celebrating the unique richness of diverse heritage, identity, and experience, joining the wisdom of our past with that of the present, and uniting in education, liberation, spiritual growth, and prophetic action.
Tell us a bit about how your group was concieved
Founded by four Jewish spiritual leaders in 2017, Yerusha began as an initiative to preserve and advance a number of legacies from progressive religious thinkers, such as Rabbi Zalman Schachter-Shalomi, Rev. Matthew Fox, Rabbi Leah Novick, Rabbi Arthur Waskow, Rivka Davidson, and others.
How many members do you serve? 1500
Tell us about one exciting project, program, or other offering you are currently working on.
This year, Yerusha is launching The Yerusha Academy, an educational institute which will be offering training and certificates in multiple spiritual leadership roles for clergy and lay-people. Beginning with our certificates in Sage-ingĀ® Mentorship and Ministry of Deep Ecumenism, we are building a dynamic and transformative educational institute to serve the spiritual needs of the present.
How do the Three Tenets inform your social engagement?
The essence of Deep Ecumenism, one of Yerusha's core values, is directly aligned with the first tenet of Not-Knowing. Reb Zalman, one of the foundational thinker-practitioners of this theology, once said "doubt scrapes away the barnacles of belief." He taught us that the truest act of faith is to engage in doubt and brave exploration of the unknown, fully accepting that however we emerge on the other side of this exploration is exactly who we are meant to be. Deep Ecumenism requires the practitioner to engage with our partners of other faiths in truth, honesty, and equality, experiencing what they experience without judgement, ultimately discovering our similarities and (perhaps more importantly) celebrating our differences.
What is the most meaningful challenge your organization Faces?
Yerusha aims not only to transform the spiritual paradigm, but that of the nonprofit industry as well. We elected to restructure ourselves as a worker self-directed organization (the nonprofit version of a worker-cooperative), so as to truly be in alignment with our core value of respecting the leadership of labor. We bear witness to the reality that the nonprofit industrial complex has caused harm for far too many workers, expecting strenuous hours and energy for reduced pay, while organizational policy is typically dictated by boards and funders who do not depend upon the organization for their own survival. We aim to act as an example, a resource, and inspiration for our partners and other nonprofits to truly shift this reality from worker-exploitation to worker-empowerment.
For more information: office@yerusha.org
Yerusha -
2770 Arapahoe Road Suite 132-642 Lafayette, CO 80026