Rabbi Marc Kline of Monmouth Reform Temple (at left, with torah) recently joined 150 Reform Rabbis and the national NAACP in a 40 day, 860 mile march from Selma, AL to Washington, DC. Tracing the route of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s 1965 march on its 50th anniversary, “America’s Journey For Justice”  was designed to “take a stand against the bigotry that proliferates” and “the segregation that…currently rears its ugly head unabashed in our country.” Rabbi Kline, who led the 2000 march that resulted in the Confederate flag’s removal from the South Carolina Statehouse dome, will lead a special “visual Shabbat” service at MRT on the anniversary of the 9-11 attacks.

Press release from Monmouth Reform Temple

In remembrance of the events of September 11, 2001,  invites all members of the community to a special visual Shabbat service on the fourteenth anniversary of that day — an opportunity to “come to reflect, come to remember, come for feeling and wholeness.”

Scheduled for 7 pm inside the Temple at 332 Hance Avenue, the contemplative service (which “may not be appropriate for children under 13”) is part of MRT’s “Seeds of Spirituality: A Visual Approach to Prayer” series; a ritual offering that “allows the worshipper to experience beautiful visual imagery directly connected to Shabbat prayers, enhanced by evocative musical settings of our prayer text,” in the words of Cantor Gabrielle Clissold.

The cantor, who developed the Seeds of Spirituality program in collaboration with Ritual Committee chair Doreen Laperdon-Addison and former MRT president Semmes Brightman, will lead the special service with Rabbi Marc Kline. In a statement, the rabbi observed that “our tradition teaches us to make sure that the Phoenix rises from the ashes of pain. As we remember a very dark time in our nation’s history, we also remind ourselves of the blessings and relationships that bring healing and restoration into torn lives.”

For additional information on the September 11 event and other offerings in the Seeds of Spirituality program, contact Semmes Brightman at (732)936-0234.