The Lawrence Jewish Community Congregation has hired Rabbi Moti Rieber as the community’s part-time rabbi. The appointment became effective Aug.12.
Rabbi Rieber comes to LJCC with a wealth of experience in Jewish communal leadership, interfaith relations and nonprofit management. A graduate of the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College in Wyncote, Penn., Rabbi Rieber also serves as director of Kansas Interfaith Power & Light, a statewide nonprofit dedicated to promoting clean energy and energy efficiency in houses of worship. He previously served as rabbi of Congregation Beth Shalom in Naperville, Ill., and as executive director of the Mid-Kansas Jewish Federation in Wichita. He and his wife Suzy live with their three children in Overland Park.
Established in 1954, the Lawrence Jewish Community Congregation serves as an inclusive center of Jewish spiritual, cultural and social life for the Lawrence area. It provides weekly Friday night Shabbat services as well as holiday services and celebrations. A diverse and egalitarian congregation, it incorporates elements of the Reform, Conservative and Reconstructionist traditions in its services.
Jonathan Paretsky, president of the LJCC, said Rabbi Rieber will provide a broad range of benefits to the congregation, including leading religious services, offering personal counseling and chaplaincy, assisting with religious education programming and consulting with the congregation on matters of ritual and community relations.
“Although the position is only quarter-time at the present, Rabbi Moti is already playing a visible and dynamic role in the community. His energy and talents are infusing a renewed sense of commitment and purpose to our congregation, ” Paretsky said.
Rabbi Rieber said he thinks “Lawrence’s identity as an intellectual and progressive community will be a good fit for me.”
One of the things that interests Rabbi Rieber most about LJCC is its diversity.
“In a comparatively small city like Lawrence, the congregation contains members who identify as nearly Orthodox to just Jewish and everything in between. Sometimes I think they’ve seen this as a challenge, but I think the community’s diversity is a strength. On the one hand it shows how seriously we take our Jewish lives, but on the other it allows us to offer a willingness to support each individual’s path,” he said.
“I hope what I will bring is a reminder that Judaism is focused on both the inside — on our spiritual practice, and our relationship with God — and on the outside on strengthening our commitments to care for each other through gemilut chasadim and to improving the world through tikkun olam. I hope to help the community nurture both — to teach that both are necessary to be a complete Jew and a complete person.”
Rabbi Rieber said at LJCC he will focus on building strong connections both within the congregation’s membership and with the wider Lawrence community. LJCC will be rolling out a series of programming, educational and service initiatives, over the coming months that will utilize his skills.
“We hope these programs will appeal both to those affiliated with the LJCC and to Jewish and interfaith families who have not yet been part of the congregation,” Rabbi Rieber said.
Rabbi Rieber leads services on the first Friday of each month and attends religious school on Sundays twice a month. Services on other Fridays are led by cantorial soloist Rachel Black, by the contemporary musical ensemble Shiray Shabbat and by lay members of the community. Rabbi Rieber will also be leading High Holy Day services.
