As we move toward Shabbat, I’ve been sitting with two emails I received over the past few weeks in response to Friday messages I had written. On the surface, they came from very different perspectives — but together, they tell a powerful story about who we are as a JCC community. One was from a member […]

Our JCC has been engaged in a rigorous and deeply thoughtful strategic planning process, led by Panoramic Strategies, to guide our next chapter. This past Monday evening, our Board of Directors officially adopted the framework for that plan, which is centered around four key pillars that will shape not only what we do, but also […]

Earlier this week, I was preparing to fly back to Massachusetts, where I previously led a JCC. The trip was supposed to be short — less than 24 hours — yet I knew it would be emotionally heavy. In the spring of 2024, a man came to that JCC with a gun and filmed himself […]

Once a week, a group of us — Jewish community leaders — sits around a table. On paper, we run very different organizations.David Sklar spends his days advocating for the Jewish community and building relationships across the civic landscape through the Jewish Community Relations Council of Greater Indianapolis. Rachel Katz leads Jewish Family Services of Greater Indianapolis, […]

A few weeks ago, I sat down at my desk to catch up on my emails and noticed I had a voicemail. The message was simple: “Please call me. I have a few questions.” Now, when you oversee a building that is open seven days a week from early morning until late at night, “a […]

I can’t recall all the details of the very first spin class I attended — who the instructor was, what music played, etc.  — but I will never forget how I felt when as a 20-something I walked into the spin room of the JCC in my hometown.  I was a little unsure and a […]

February is a sweet spot at the JCC Indianapolis: the Jewish calendar shifts into Adar (hello, joy!), families start mapping out spring schedules, and it’s the perfect time to plug into community—whether you’re a longtime member or visiting us for the first time.

Something happened earlier this week that might have sounded ordinary to most people in the room where it happened, but it didn’t feel ordinary to me. I was at the annual JCC CEO Conference in Atlanta where Barak Hermann, CEO of the JCC Association of North America, was speaking about inclusion across our movement. In […]

This week, I walked past a wall I’ve passed every single day since I started at the JCC in the fall of 2024. And for the first time, it was empty. The photo above shows that wall — blank as of earlier this week — but for more than a year it held the faces […]

Growing up Jewish in the Deep South teaches you something that never really leaves you: nothing is far away. This week, I read about the arson at Beth Israel in Jackson, Mississippi — a synagogue set on fire, Torah scrolls destroyed — and I felt it in my body. Not because Jackson is close to […]