Join Rabbi Michael Oblath and Congregation Beth Sholom at the Shabbat service for the LGBT community on Friday, June 1, part of Anchorage’s celebration of Pride Week 2012.

Congregation Beth Sholom — Alaska’s largest Jewish congregation — is a Reform Jewish synagogue serving the greater Anchorage community with members from Girdwood to the Mat-Su Valley, including Palmer and Wasilla.

Congregation Beth Sholom is also welcoming to LGBT people, and has taken the Keshet pledge against anti-gay and anti-trans bullying:

Do Not Stand Idly By: A Jewish Community Pledge to Save Lives

As members of a tradition that sees each person as created in the divine image, we respond with anguish and outrage at the spate of suicides brought on by homophobic bullying and intolerance. We hereby commit to ending homophobic bullying or harassment of any kind in our synagogues, schools, organizations, and communities. As a signatory, I pledge to speak out when I witness anyone being demeaned for their actual or perceived sexual orientation or gender identity. I commit myself to do whatever I can to ensure that each and every person in my community is treated with dignity and respect.

(Keshet is a national grassroots organization working for the full inclusion of GLBT Jews in Jewish life. In Hebrew, Keshet means both “rainbow,” a symbol of GLBT pride, and “bow,” an instrument for action.)

• Date/time: Friday, June 1, 7:30 to 9:00 PM
• Location: Congregation Beth Sholom, 7525 E. Northern Lights Blvd, Anchorage, AK (see map)
• Cost of admission: Free event. All ages.
• Further info: see Congregation Beth Sholom website.

See Bent Alaska’s complete Anchorage Pride Week 2012 calendar.